Chapter 158

Chapter 158

Reinforcements, where did they come from?

The thought barely had time to cross the minds of the soldiers at Shayan Pass before the distant reinforcements launched a Dayuan signal flare—one from the Qi Family Camp. At this moment, that signal was more convincing than any words. Almost instantly, the garrison commander inside the city knew exactly what to do.

"Who leads the opposing forces?"

"Not sure, but looks like they're from Western Shu."

Troops from Western Shu... The Third Prince tightened his grip on the reins, thinking of one person: "The Crown Prince is in Western Shu."

The generals defending Shayan Pass put it together—that was a Qi family signal flare.

Three days earlier, during the march through Western Shu.

Under the endless night sky, the Jiangcheng Army advanced at full speed without even pitching camp. While resting at a relay station, Qi Hanzhou and a group of Jiangcheng generals had already worked out their battle plan.

"Tianqian Pass garrison, Youzhou garrison, and Liangzhou garrison can all spare troops." As they marched, Qi Hanzhou's signed orders pulled together the full strength of Western Shu's forces. "Keep the elite troops to hold the cities, send everyone else—Youzhou keeps an eye on Shayan, Liangzhou moves the supplies north, Tianqian Pass handles the backup."

"Should we tip off Shayan Pass in secret?" Ye Xuanjiu asked.

Qi Hanzhou shook his head decisively: "No. We need to find out how many men the Northern Barbarians are throwing at Shayan."

In war, the worst thing you can do is tip off the enemy too early.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard's spy network from the Northern Campaign in Western Shu went back into action. They scouted the horse trails, stockpiled rations, and every prefecture in Western Shu kicked their supply lines into gear for the troop movements.

What did clear passage through Western Shu mean? It meant relay stations opened the roads ahead of time, with food, horses, and even heavy gear ready to go. When the Crown Prince's secret letter and Qi Hanzhou's orders went out, all of Western Shu snapped into action, pulling troops together in record time. The farthest out were the Jiangcheng troops down south, and the closest were the Youzhou troops up north.

Youzhou's scouts never took their eyes off Shayan. The second they caught wind of the Northern Barbarian army's movements, the mobilization order hit Youzhou City.

The battlefield shifts in an instant—how fast you can move your troops is what separates a real general from the rest.

To guard against whoever was pulling strings behind the attack on Shayan, this backup plan finally went fully into motion.

"If the enemy's got overwhelming numbers, what we've pulled together might not cut it," a Jiangcheng general said.

"We might not get there in time, but to hold back the barbarian tide, we can't lose our momentum." Qi Hanzhou pointed to several directions on the map: "Shayan's got wide-open ground. If we come at them from multiple directions, even with holes in our rear, we can scare the hell out of them."

"How?" the general asked.

"Once we're inside Shayan Pass, every horse gets new shoes."

Qi Hanzhou knew the northern desert like the back of his hand. "We'll make it so they can't figure out how many of us there are."

Three days later, outside Shayan Pass, nearly ten thousand troops from various garrisons massed to the south, staring down the pass's defenders from a distance. Then the gates of Shayan Pass swung open, and the garrison commander, who'd been stuck on defense, led his men out to hit the barbarian invasion line from two sides alongside the Western Shu Defense Force.

Dust flew as the horseshoes churned up sand, putting on one hell of a show.

With no intel, no recon, this mystery force from Western Shu had the barbarians playing it careful.

When word hit the enemy camp, One-Eye, the Western Shu rebel leader, locked eyes with the Northern Barbarian chieftain at the sight of the approaching reinforcements. "Didn't you say neither the imperial court nor the northern frontier had reinforcements?"

It'd been barely seven days since they'd grabbed the imperial grain. Even the Qi family hadn't caught wind of it yet. Even if word got back to the court, it'd take at least half a month to move troops. How the hell did the Western Shu garrison know in advance?!

"Of course." One-Eye shot a vicious glare toward the reinforcements. That was Western Shu—and troops coming from there made him think of one person: the Crown Prince of Dayuan. The sting of losing at Jiangcheng came flooding back. He'd heard while on the run that the Crown Prince was deathly ill; who'd have thought he'd bounce back this fast? No wonder that lord could never get over him.

Losing at Jiangcheng had made him lose face in front of his master. This Shayan Pass operation was everything. If he could take the pass before the Qi family camp reacted, he could smash straight through the iron wall they'd built. He couldn't afford to screw this up.

"All cavalry, ready to charge!" One-Eye barked.

This sudden turn made the Northern Barbarian commander frown hard. They'd prepped everything before hitting Shayan—grabbing the grain had already won them most of the battle. Why the hell would Western Shu cause this much trouble at the worst possible time? He'd heard that tons of civilians down south had signed up to fight the rebels. If these troops came from the south and were ready for this, then they might've been played.

"How many of them are there?" the Northern Barbarian commander turned to ask.

"Can't tell," the scout in charge replied.

One-Eye said coldly, "I don't buy that the imperial army could pull this many men together this fast."

If they could do that, why'd they have to win the Battle of Liangzhou City against such shitty odds?

The Northern Barbarian Army had its own take: "But you lost in Western Shu."

One-Eye muttered a curse and rode out with his men.

The Northern Barbarian commander, scared One-Eye might wreck the whole barbarian plan, told his men: "Watch their numbers. Don't get reckless."

Inside Shayan Pass, the Qi Family Army charged out of the city to engage without hesitation. The threat of sixty thousand troops loomed, yet the distant reinforcements and the signal flare gave them immense confidence.

The defenders of Shayan Pass chose to attack fiercely against the sixty-thousand-strong army. Their trust in the reinforcements and the shortage of provisions at Shayan meant they couldn't fight a prolonged war—with such a rare opportunity, they would not waste any chance to strike.

After the first wave of charges, the Northern Barbarian Army actually found themselves at a disadvantage. After One-Eye rode out, he noticed the barbarian forces behind him advancing with extreme caution. Facing attacks from two sides, the Northern Barbarians chose to defend while probing. "Are you insane?!"

The Northern Barbarian commander was of the cautious school. Unlike One-Eye's aggressive assault, he preferred to first ascertain the enemy's movements: "The Khanate wants victory, not recklessness."

The two sides clashed back and forth, fighting to a stalemate.

Then the Northern Barbarians finally realized—the Dayuan army wasn't as numerous as they'd thought. That thunderous momentum was merely an illusion created by horses' hooves. When word reached the enemy camp, the Northern Barbarian commander looked surprised, while One-Eye cursed twice: "Press the attack!"

The Third Prince led troops into battle—they had to tear open a corridor to the Qi Family Camp first. When the Shayan Pass garrison finally linked up with the Western Shu Defense Force and learned that this supposedly mighty reinforcement numbered barely over ten thousand, the border generals were stunned, marveling at their audacity: "And you still dared to fire signal flares?!"

Not only did they dare—they dared to charge!

The Western Shu Defense Force faced the physically formidable Northern Barbarians, but these Western Shu troops, masters of guerrilla warfare, knew how to maneuver. They used Western Shu tactics to weave through the enemy lines, stubbornly slowing the barbarians' assault speed.

The Third Prince recognized the strategy—not recklessness, but preemptive action: "No, what he wants is momentum."

What Qi Hanzhou wanted was the enemy's caution. Once the enemy grew cautious, that bought time for reinforcements. If they could survive the hardest initial phase—one day, or even half a day—then the Jiangcheng troops, farthest away, could use that accumulated time to reach Shayan at the fastest possible speed.

This engagement dragged on for a long time—an hour? Two hours?

Impossible to count. But at the critical moment, a horn sounded from afar!

"They've arrived!" The Western Shu Defense Force turned back.

At that moment, the true reinforcements arrived.

Over twenty thousand Jiangcheng troops swept in from the flank. The Northern Barbarians thought they had gauged the enemy's strength, never expecting that within half a day, more reinforcements would arrive from Western Shu. The convergence of two reinforcement waves instantly turned the tide against the barbarians, who had believed victory was within their grasp. They could no longer determine the size of the Dayuan army.

Qi Hanzhou shored up the collapsing flank of the Western Shu Defense Force from the south. The moment he broke through, his objective was clear—straight for the enemy commander.

The Jiangcheng troops were fighting on the northern frontier for the first time, yet none among them showed fear.

How hard-won was the stability of the southern territories! Among them were garrison soldiers once deceived by rebel propaganda, and civilians who had lived in misery... After the Southern Campaign, they still had too many scores to settle. Now, on the vast northern desert battlefield, none of them chose to retreat!

"It's that bastard!" the Jiangcheng garrison commander cursed.

Within the Northern Barbarian ranks, Qi Hanzhou spotted the man charging at the very front. After days in Jiangcheng, he knew exactly who had led the siege of the city. The moment he saw him, he knew the debt from Western Shu would be settled here.

"It's Qi Hanzhou!" The Northern Barbarian general recognized him and immediately moved to fall back.

Qi Hanzhou had followed his father into battle as a youth; he was the one who had taken their territory.

One-Eye acted as if he hadn't heard.

The heavy spear pressed down hard on One-Eye's weapon. In that brief clash, One-Eye locked eyes with Qi Hanzhou. They'd harbored a deep hatred for this man since their time in Western Shu. If he and the Crown Prince hadn't prepared in advance there, the Western Shu plan would've gone off without a hitch after the Prince of Qin's rebellion. But because of those two, they'd been forced to abandon years of groundwork in the Southern Frontier and march north.

Two exchanges, and neither gained the upper hand.

The Northern Barbarian general sensed the enemy's strength. "Fall back!"

One-Eye couldn't hear. He wanted Qi Hanzhou dead, right here!

One-Eye was freakishly strong. He raised his twin hammers and swung at Qi Hanzhou's lower body.

In that instant, Qi Hanzhou's spear drove through the hammer handle, using his body's momentum to send the weapon flying from One-Eye's grasp. It all happened in an instant—the Pei Family Spear slipped from his grip, and he switched to a sword, breaking through with overwhelming force, driving straight for One-Eye's last good eye.

One-Eye dodged in panic. But in the same breath, Qi Hanzhou changed tactics and knocked him clean off his horse!

Years had passed since they'd last met. The Northern Barbarian general caught a glimpse and felt a chill run through him. How many generals who'd left the battlefield had gone soft? But this young man was different. Years later, he seemed exactly as he had when he'd followed his father into battle—except where youth had been brash, he now kept his edge hidden. In that first exchange, beneath the restraint lay a hidden brilliance!

"Fall back!" The Northern Barbarian general shouted again.

He gave up on rescuing One-Eye and chose to withdraw.

Outside Shayan Pass, the Western Shu troops saw the Northern Barbarians pulling back and rushed into the pass. This timely rescue had stopped a surprise attack dead in its tracks. The garrison generals didn't dare imagine how many lives would've been lost outside Shayan Pass if the reinforcements hadn't arrived in time. One-Eye was captured—Qi Hanzhou's sword took out his other eye—and he was dragged back to camp, cursing up a storm. Qi Hanzhou questioned the scouts and learned that only half the rebel forces had shown up—the other half's whereabouts were unknown.

The Qi Family Army looked at the Junior General they hadn't seen in years, full of curiosity. The veteran generals looked over, tears in their eyes: "Junior General."

Qi Hanzhou nodded slightly and saluted the Third Prince: "This reinforcement was urgent; the grain convoy's still in Youzhou. This isn't over—we need to establish a new grain route as fast as possible."

They needed to connect Youzhou and Shayan to make this supply line fully operational.

"Why hasn't the grain arrived?" the Third Prince asked with a frown.

Qi Hanzhou said: "The court's grain line's got problems. Don't worry, Your Highness—grain from the Southern Frontier will get here as fast as possible."

The Third Prince knew these matters were beyond the control of a mere general like Qi Hanzhou. Mobilizing the Southern Frontier's arrangements was his sixth brother's doing. He pushed the thought aside and ordered others to handle it.

The veteran generals heard the grain line had issues. Even though they'd expected it, their hearts tightened: "What about the grain supply at the Qi Family Camp?"

"The court's grain's going to the front lines; the Qi Family Camp's military farms are already in dire straits."

Qi Hanzhou heard the northern military farms were in crisis, and his eyes narrowed instantly.

The grain situation in the north was worse than he'd expected.

-*

News of the northern grain failures reached the court one after another, igniting strife across the court and country.

The Eastern Palace had risen in prominence thanks to the Southern Frontier, and its widespread renown put the interest networks at court on edge. The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works rose with the Crown Prince, gradually overshadowing other powers. Some had set their sights on the opportunities in the northern region.

Hu Buyu had a long talk with Shen Changcun that night. The moment trouble hit, they knew how serious it was. Without waiting for the Crown Prince's orders, they knew power had to be firmly in their hands.

"The problem's in the palace and the Grand Secretariat," Hu Buyu said. "Detain everyone who handled the compromised grain lines and hand them over to the Court of Judicial Review. During this time, no one's allowed to visit them—we can't let them find out about the Crown Prince's movements."

Shen Changcun understood. "The Secret Faction at court should be rooted out completely. How did this get exposed?"

Hu Buyu looked at Shen Changcun. "Since Dayuan's founding, we've had two emperors. Time at war far exceeds time of stable governance. Nearly nine years have passed since the Emperor came back. Civil officials overstepping, corrupt officials embezzling, the Secret Faction eroding—are these things solely because of the Secret Faction?"

The former Xu Faction, the current Yun family clique—behind them lay interest disputes among the capital's powerful and aristocratic families. They could tolerate the Eastern Palace's rise when necessary, but as power gradually dispersed, these people wanted to be meritorious officials. They could not bear seeing achievements shared with the Eastern Palace and military commanders. If so, the power of the court's noble families would gradually vanish.

"Internal strife and external threats, and they still think of this!" Shen Changcun fumed.

Hu Buyu said: "They had merit during the late Emperor's reign, and under their power they sheltered their clans. Because of this, the Secret Faction was able to infiltrate the Xu family and the Eldest Prince Faction."

This matter was far from simple. With the grain line compromised, what would the Qi Family Army in the north think?

This was not the first time the court had failed on grain supplies. In the military pay case that had destroyed the Chen family, the Emperor's aim was to appease all military commanders. Dayuan was built on martial strength; if grain supplies kept failing, morale in the north would inevitably suffer.

Hu Buyu knew this, and so did His Majesty.

Otherwise, when the grain crisis broke, the Emperor would have stripped power from the Ministry of War and Ministry of Works.

Inside the Qianqing Palace, the Emperor coldly examined the battle report that had arrived. The northern grain crisis had delayed the report sent to court by two days. Special circumstances in wartime were understandable, but he also knew who among them was stalling behind the scenes.

He frowned for a long time, and when he spoke, a muffled cough escaped. Old wounds from his early campaigns ached faintly.

Eunuch Rong, standing nearby, hurried forward to check on him. "Your Majesty, shall I summon the imperial physician?"

"An old ailment." The Emperor waved him off, but after a moment's thought said: "Have the physician come."

Yet perhaps because the physician had been summoned frequently of late, some at court could no longer suppress their movements.

The Emperor gave a few low instructions. Then Ji Wuming, hidden in the shadows, stepped out and presented several secret reports to the Emperor. Eunuch Rong, seeing this, took his leave.

After Eunuch Rong departed, the Emperor looked at Ji Wuming, his eyes an unreadable darkness.

At that moment, a Qi's falcon from the north entered the palace and landed beside the desk. The Emperor took the letter, read it, then handed another confidential missive to Ji Wuming: "This secret letter—deliver it to the Crown Prince."

Ji Wuming was startled. Not long ago, he had received an urgent report: Qi Hanzhou had told him to protect the Emperor no matter what. "Your Majesty, this is—"

That night, the Qianqing Palace blazed with light.

Eunuch Rong had just stepped out of the hall when the attendant beside him followed. "Godfather, His Majesty's condition—"

He looked at his disciple, silencing him with a cold glare, and only instructed: "Send word for Lord Meng to enter the palace."

The disciple was startled. "And the Imperial Medical Bureau—"

"Have Physician Li come. Do not make a sound about it," Eunuch Rong instructed.

Physician Li was Chu Taiyi's trusted man. The Emperor's medical records were handled only by dedicated personnel; aside from a few involved, no one knew that his health had been declining in recent years due to recurring old wounds. But this could not be revealed to the court. The Emperor's authority had suppressed many undercurrents for years—precisely because of him, many dared not act rashly.

If His Majesty's grave illness were exposed, the court would descend into chaos.

-*

In the mountains of Western Shu, traveling by night.

The frontline victory report came through Youzhou. When the falcon landed on the carriage, Ying Fusheng had just risen from his desk. He took the intelligence and saw the report of the great victory at Shayan. He knew Qi Hanzhou had made it in time.

Ying Fusheng stared at the battle report for a long time. In his past life, he never received such reports—only the falcon flying in each night to tell him of the northern situation. But this life was different. Qi Hanzhou's movements, his every scheme—with just a few simple words, Ying Fusheng could know everything about him.

It was as if someone had placed the hilt of a blade in his hand.

"Your Highness." Weng Yanqing reminded him.

Ying Fusheng snapped back to attention. "Shayan is stabilized, but the grain problem is severe."

He knew nothing of the Secret Faction's schemes in the north. So until they moved, he could find no breakthrough. The Western Shu arrangement was one card held in reserve; now he needed a second.

"Your Highness, the full account of the grain supply incident has been compiled and delivered by Youzhou's provisional prefectural office," Weng Yanqing said, handing it over. The Eastern Palace's network in Western Shu swung into action, and the advantages of a stable southern front now became glaringly obvious.

Ying Fusheng scanned the intelligence within. "As expected."

When something goes wrong, you have to unravel it from the source, thread by thread. For the Northern Barbarians to have struck Shayan so silently, somewhere in the chain, a link had to have broken. What Ying Fusheng needed to do was use the network he'd set up in Western Shu to investigate the matter thoroughly. "These two relay stations are compromised—no military dispatches can go through them."

Weng Yanqing said, "The northern officials involved have already been brought to heel by the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

Ying Fusheng nodded, but when he saw the pawns the Secret Faction had deployed, he knew that reaching into the north with such deeply hidden, never-before-used pieces meant the Secret Faction's available options were dwindling. Compared to years of groping in the dark, he could now see more and more of their layout. The tables had turned—his standing and the Secret Faction's had completely flipped.

In this grand chess game, he now had the upper hand.

With the Secret Faction confirmed to be in the north, Qi Hanzhou could move a large force up north, reducing the garrison needs of Western Shu.

This was the backup plan.

It caught the Secret Faction flat-footed, but it also put him right in the line of fire. Moving troops without imperial orders—once word reached the court, it would become ammunition for others to condemn the Qi family. Even if a general in the field may refuse orders from the throne, for the court's political factions, some things were purely about self-interest.

Ying Fusheng closed the dossier. Suddenly, another carrier pigeon flew in from afar—not the Qi family's falcon. It landed and pecked gently at Ying Fusheng's hand, nuzzling affectionately—it was the Xiao family's messenger bird. "Make three copies of this intelligence. Send them to Shayan, the Qi Family Camp, and the Chen Family Army in the east. Prioritize grain supplies above all—get them to the Qi Family Camp at maximum speed, no matter what."

Weng Yanqing's eyes flickered. Three copies, but no intention of sending word back to the court. "Your Highness?"

Ying Fusheng destroyed the secret letter within the Xiao family's dispatch. The flickering candlelight inside the carriage cast shadows across his dark, unreadable eyes.

What did the court's chaos matter? He was the Crown Prince—those people ought to stay dutifully in their places.

Ying Fusheng said, "It's time I returned to the capital."