Chapter 220: "I Want Han Yang."
In the lush greenery of the royal court in June, Tong Que hurriedly carried a letter toward the inner hall of Zhaohua Palace. The newly planted rice in the courtyard grew vigorously, the seedlings already reaching past knee-height.
"Your Highness, the Azure Guard has received an urgent report. The Pu'ershi tribe claims a Chen Kingdom cavalry unit slaughtered half their clan, severely wounding their chieftain. They are demanding an explanation from the royal court."
The palace windows stood wide open, layered bamboo curtains hanging at varying heights to filter the sunlight. By the window, a desk overflowed with memorials and bamboo scrolls. Wen Yu sat behind it in dark cyan brocade court attire, her simply tied black hair cascading to the floor like her gown. Resting her cheek on one hand propped against the desk, her jade-like face bore a faint frown between cool eyebrows, tinged with weariness.
Hearing the report, she lifted her gaze. Though frowning, her dark eyes—like frozen obsidian—radiated only profound calm. Taking a document from the desk, she unfolded it: "The Pu'ershi tribe attacked? Then who entered the pass under their name days ago?"
Tong Que grasped the implication: "Could it be... someone assaulted the Pu'ershi tribe and impersonated them to approach the court?"
Wen Yu studied the Azure Guard's urgent report, her brow tightening further. "Where are the tribal envoys coming for A Li's hundred-day celebration?"
"They should be nearing the court by now," Tong Que calculated.
After a moment's thought, Wen Yu ordered: "Seal the four passes. Hold all tribal envoys outside for now. Send the Azure Guard to thoroughly investigate the Pu'ershi incident—and check the other tribes too. Also dispatch a letter to General Mu Youliang at the western border to clarify this cavalry matter."
Recognizing the urgency, Tong Que acknowledged and swiftly departed.
Wind rose in the courtyard as clouds swallowed the sun, turning the bright sky overcast. A Li woke from her nap in the rocking crib. Seeing Wen Yu deep in thought at the desk, she didn't cry but kicked off her thin blanket with strong little legs, babbling cheerfully with tiny milky teeth showing.
Wen Yu turned. The infant waved her limbs energetically, grinning at her. Gently rocking the crib, Wen Yu watched wind flutter the bamboo curtains and palace draperies. Softly, she murmured: "The storm is coming."
Outside the four passes, dark iron cavalry spread in formation. Dull horn blasts swept by cold winds toward Chen towers, where the stern "Xiao" banner fluttered ominously against the gloomy sky, unsettling the defending generals.
"Xiao banners? The Northern Border's Xiao Army? Why are they here?"
"Sound the alarm bells!"
Bronze bells hanging from the towers clanged urgently. Chen soldiers scrambled like ants guarding their nest. Crossbowmen crowded the battlements as catapults remained unfixed. Below, dozens of armored soldiers jointly turned a winch to draw a ballista. A hammer struck the trigger—a massive triple-bladed bolt shot toward the towers like an anchor with terrifying force.
"General, take cover!" A deputy on the walls, seeing the threat, shoved the commanding general aside as the bolt screamed toward them.A thunderous crash echoed as the iron-hard bricks of the city wall shattered like rotten wood under that single arrow, piercing through the outer parapet before embedding itself deep into the inner wall with undiminished force.
Witnesses to this scene felt their hearts tremble with dread.
The commanding general, who had been dusted with lime as he scrambled up from the ground, now stood with a face drained of all color.
Torrential rain began to pour down, bean-sized droplets spreading dark stains across the blue-gray bricks of the wall. Below, the black banner bearing golden patterns and the character "Xiao" still flapped fiercely in the growing cold wind.
The young commander standing astride his warhorse at the forefront had sharp, penetrating eyes, resembling the alpha wolf leading a pack of beasts. He spoke coldly: "Surrender Han Yang."
"Otherwise, my Wolf Cavalry will trample your Chen royal court flat."
The defending commander dared not utter a word in response, immediately signaling his personal guards to rush to the palace with the message.
Chen soldiers dashed through the heavy rain, their black boots splattering mud like ink spreading across an inkstone.
Wen Yu was just rolling up her sleeves to write a letter when Tong Que rushed into the hall in a state of disarray, exclaiming: "Your Highness, terrible news! The Xiao Army from the Northern Border has marched on the royal court!"
Wen Yu's brush paused, the purple-haired tip leaving a large inkblot on the letter paper.
She frowned: "So it was him who impersonated the Puer tribe to cross the border?"
But with just the Puer tribe disguise, the forces that could have been smuggled through the pass were likely limited. How had he managed to lead such an army all the way from the border to the royal court?
And was there any connection between the troops that had impersonated Chen forces to attack the Puer tribe and him...
Too many questions flooded Wen Yu's mind. With a grave expression, she contemplated briefly before ordering: "Quickly summon all officials for an emergency council."
After using the ballista shot to intimidate the Chen forces, Xiao Li's Wolf Cavalry simply maintained their siege around the city.
The Chen territory was not as vast as Liang land - one could travel from the border to the royal court in just a few days. Moreover, with deserts dominating beyond their borders where oasis-nomadic tribes migrated according to water sources, Chen's border defense had always been distributed in scattered points.
Wherever an attack occurred, nearby garrison troops would rush to provide support.
However, over the past two years, in their effort to break free from Western Mausoleum's threat and return to Liang territory, Chen had diverted tens of thousands of troops into Liang after reaching cooperation with Wen Yu. This year, with the full outbreak of war against Western Mausoleum, over half of the original border garrison forces had been transferred to support the western front.
The current western front situation relied entirely on Liang's campaign concluding so forces could turn to support Chen's western border.
Thus when Xiao Li's Wolf Cavalry disguised themselves as various tribes to bypass border defenses and directly besiege the royal court, only the imperial guards originally stationed there could offer some resistance. In the short term, Chen truly couldn't muster additional forces.
When Xiao Li entered the tent, the Basheye tribe leader he had previously rescued began gesturing excitedly, forgetting official language in his agitation and speaking rapidly in his tribal tongue. His expression clearly showed he was reproaching Xiao Li.
After previously begging Xiao Li to rescue Wen Yu, the Basheye leader had claimed he needed to travel among the tribes to deliver warnings. But with his arrow wound, relying solely on him to spread messages would be too slow, so Xiao Li had him write letters instead, which the Wolf Cavalry delivered on his behalf.After learning of the Basheye tribe's plight and Wen Yu's predicament, the various tribes in the desert cherished the brief peace Wen Yu had brought them and feared that once the Chen regime fell out of Wen Yu's control, their tribes would once again become casualties in the conflict between Western Mausoleum and Chen.
To avoid "alerting the enemy" and prevent the mole lurking in the royal court from gaining wind of any developments that could harm Wen Yu, all tribes agreed to Xiao Li's arrangements. They proceeded as planned to attend the little princess's hundred-day celebration at the royal court, but the accompanying gift procession consisted entirely of Xiao Li's Wolf Cavalry.
Their original intention was to enter the capital to protect the sovereign, but Xiao Li's current encirclement of the royal court was equivalent to declaring war on it, clearly contradicting their initial purpose.
Zhao Youcai, being quick-witted, had spent these days with the Basheye chieftain and had learned much of their tribal language. Hearing the chieftain's outburst in his native tongue, Zhao immediately covered his mouth and dragged him backward: "Calm down, calm down! The Marquis must have his reasons for doing this."
Xiao Li took his seat behind the long table and asked, "What did he say?"
Zhao Youcai awkwardly replied, "Chieftain Baru said how could you break your word and declare war on the royal court and Princess Han Yang."
The Basheye chieftain broke free from Zhao Youcai's grip and glared furiously at Xiao Li.
Xiao Li asked, "Why did the royal court suddenly seal off all four passes?"
The anger on the Basheye chieftain's face faltered.
Xiao Li's sharp gaze fixed on him: "This Marquis slaughtered two Western Mausoleum Army units disguised as Chen troops that were raiding various tribes. On the same day we rescued Chieftain Baru, the other Western Mausoleum Army unit we eliminated confessed that the Pu'ershi tribe had been completely wiped out by them. With Western Mausoleum losing two military units in succession, does Chieftain Baru think they might suspect something and send word to their mole in the royal court?"
Zhao Youcai clasped his hands anxiously: "This is bad! If the spy in the royal court learns that both Basheye and Pu'ershi tribes have been destroyed, yet our entering party includes people from these two tribes, that spy might falsely accuse us of having ill intentions toward the royal court in front of the Princess! They might even take the Princess hostage to protect themselves!"
The Basheye chieftain struggled to process this information, his anger completely replaced by a different kind of worry.
He knelt before Xiao Li once more: "Please, Marquis, save the Princess."
Xiao Li leaned back slightly, his rain-dampened hair falling disorderly across his forehead. The hard arm wraps on his elbows rested on the chair arms, his dark eyes startlingly intense as he said: "I've said it before - I want Han Yang."
"They wouldn't dare touch her."
In the main hall of the royal palace, Wen Yu sat high upon the throne. The beaded curtain before the steps had been removed, making his appearance no different from that of a monarch holding court.
The ministers below had all heard about Xiao Li surrounding the royal court. The news that the defending general had nearly been killed by a siege crossbow in a single encounter with Xiao Li's forces had also spread, causing an uproar among all officials.
Meanwhile, a woman dressed as an ordinary palace maid hurried toward Lingxi Palace carrying a tray of newly tailored clothing. Stopped by guards at the palace gate, she presented her waist token: "I'm from the Imperial Wardrobe Bureau, delivering newly made summer clothes for the Empress Dowager."
After the guards examined the token and allowed her entry, the woman rushed into the Buddhist hall. Kneeling before the Empress Dowager, she called her "Aunt" and whispered something that made the previously devout Empress Dowager suddenly open her eyes wide: "Is this true?"
...Zhanghua Hall, which had been sealed off by the Imperial Guards for over a year, now saw Vice Commander Yan Zhen dismissing his subordinates. He half-knelt and clasped his fist toward King Chen, who stood inside the hall with disheveled clothes, sunken cheeks, and an overall deranged appearance. "Your Majesty has suffered," Yan Zhen said.
King Chen responded with nothing but a scornful laugh. Dragging his black royal robe, he sat on the steps inside the hall, chewing on a leftover chicken bone. The grating sound of his teeth grinding against the bone was unnerving to hear.
After chewing for a while, he spat the chicken bone at Yan Zhen's feet. His equally sunken eyes, tinged with a venomous, snake-like malice, scrutinized Yan Zhen as he said, "Vice Commander Yan? What a rare guest!"
In the council hall, the court officials were still embroiled in noisy arguments.
"Though this man rose to fame late, he has never suffered a defeat in all these years. To think he could secretly lead a massive army to besiege the royal court—our Chen Kingdom is in grave peril!"
"That treacherous wolf-hearted scoundrel! Did he not just form an alliance with us to attack Pei Song? How could he betray his oath and turn against our Chen Kingdom?"
"I heard that when a strategist from Pei's camp once framed him, he had the man sliced alive and boiled. When Wei Qishan wrongfully imprisoned him, he wiped out Wei Qishan's entire lineage. He holds a vendetta against Pei Song for his mother's death, and after seizing his city, he slaughtered twenty thousand surrendered soldiers! This man truly lives up to the name 'Xiao the Hell King'! How did our Chen Kingdom incur such a calamity?"
Seated above, Wen Yu listened as the officials either lamented the impending disaster or shifted blame. Resting her hand on the armrest of the throne, she pressed her fingers to her brow and raised her eyes to interrupt them. "I have summoned all of you here to discuss how we should respond."
Her voice was calm and measured, and her words successfully silenced the clamorous hall.
After a moment, Qi Simiao, who had remained silent until then, stepped forward and said, "The only course of action now is to summon all border defense troops, except those from the western frontier, to rush to the royal court to protect the king. The desert tribes beyond our borders have benefited greatly from trade with our Chen Kingdom over the past year and are unlikely to invade lightly. If Your Highness can also mobilize troops from Liang to reinforce us, that would be the best strategy."
Immediately, another official refuted, "It would take the border defense troops at least three days to reach the royal court. Moreover, that wolf-hearted scoundrel has already led his army to press upon the royal court, yet no news came from the borders beforehand. How do we know the border defense troops haven't already met with disaster? Even if they are still intact, can the Imperial Guards of the royal court hold off his Army of tigers and wolves for three days?"
At these words, murmurs arose once more in the court, but no one else stepped forward to argue.
Breaking the silence that filled the hall, Wen Yu spoke, "Since he has demanded to see me, I will personally ascend the city tower to negotiate peace with him. Even if peace talks fail, I will stall for the full three days."
After some hushed discussions, the officials agreed that this was the best plan under the circumstances.
But from outside the hall came a voice: "Xiao Li is a man who never forgets a grievance. What befell the Yu father and son who wronged him, the Wei family, and the twenty thousand surrendered soldiers from Pei's camp—has Your Highness forgotten?"
Two rows of Imperial Guards entered, their armor clanking with muffled sounds. Yan Zhen emerged from behind them and, for the first time, looked directly at Wen Yu seated high upon the throne. "Does Your Highness not think that his demand for you, after besieging the royal court, is to exact revenge for the attempt on his life in the past?"
When Xiao Li was framed by the Yu father and son, Pei Song added fuel to the fire, bringing up his past defection from the Liang Camp. Xiao Li's camp had issued a clarification at the time, stating that he left the Liang Camp because they had nearly wrongfully executed him.
This was no longer a secret.Seized by fear, the court officials began whispering among themselves once more.
Yan Zhen continued, "To spare the innocent people of the royal court from the ravages of war, this humble general believes the princess should willingly offer herself bound to the Xiao Army to quell their wolfish ambitions. Moreover... for monopolizing political power, the princess has imprisoned our king for over a year—truly a viper's act!"
After speaking, he stepped aside. A figure emerged against the light from the main hall entrance—it was King Chen.
Gazing at Wen Yu, who remained unperturbed and seated calmly on high, he recalled the torment endured over the past year. Unable to suppress his hatred any longer, he raised a finger toward Wen Yu and spat out a curse: "Vicious woman!"
OpenNovel