The war in Liu Zhou has been marked by a series of triumphant victories.
First, Kou Jianghuai, in coordination with the Longxiang Army, launched an assault on Huang Songpu’s main camp. Not only did they successfully breach the camp and annihilate the supply depot, but they also inflicted heavy losses on Wanyan Yinjiang’s elite border cavalry. Shortly after, Xie Xichui, as if possessed by divine foresight, led the monks of Lantuo Mountain to split their forces between Fengxiang and Linyao. Not only did they thwart a surprise attack by the Southern Dynasty’s infantry, but Cao Wei’s cavalry, which had already penetrated deep into the heart of Gusai Prefecture, executed a sudden counterattack, wiping out the remaining six thousand infantry and the Southern Dynasty border cavalry that Xie Xichui’s monks had lured into a deadly trap. With this battle, Cao Wei, already renowned for his heroics at the Battle of Miyun Pass, earned the nickname “Cao the Thunderbolt.”
As Huang Songpu’s western front forces, having suffered two defeats, slowed their advance, Xie Xichui led his monks to reinforce Qingcang City, turning the tide of the war in Liu Zhou in their favor!
However, amidst these victories, a memorial impeaching Xie Xichui was circulated through the Liu Zhou Governor’s residence before being sent to the Jubei City estate.
This cast a shadow over Jubei City, already shrouded in the lingering autumn rain, adding an air of tension and foreboding.
Xu Fengnian stood in the solemn atmosphere of the military chamber, gently setting down the memorial bearing the endorsements of Liu Zhou Governor Yang Guangdou, Deputy Governor Chen Xiliang, and Liu Zhou General Kou Jianghuai. The room was filled with high-ranking officials: the young Prince of Beiliang, Deputy Military Commissioner Yang Shenxing, who oversaw the region, Governor Li Gongde, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, Liangzhou Governor Bai Yu, newly appointed Jubei City Governor Xu Huang, and Li Yanchao, who had recently transferred from the Left Cavalry to serve as the First Deputy Commander of the Right Cavalry. The initial report, penned by a former Youzhou infantry captain now promoted to commander of Fengxiang Garrison, detailed the defense of Fengxiang and accused Xie Xichui of one critical failing: during the two-day siege, he had overly conserved the strength of the Lantuo Mountain monks, deploying only around nine hundred of them to assist in the city’s defense, leading to unnecessary casualties among the garrison troops. The Youzhou infantry veterans were reduced to a mere ninety-two survivors.
Xie Xichui and Kou Jianghuai, both hailed as the “Twin Jewels of Chu,” were Liu Zhou’s top generals—young but brilliant tacticians. Regardless of their individual motives, their standing within the Beiliang border army was about to diverge sharply. While Kou Jianghuai’s decisive victory over Huang Songpu’s forces had earned him the respect of the Longxiang Army and the gratitude of Liu Zhou’s refugees, Xie Xichui, despite his earlier success at Miyun Pass, now faced widespread disillusionment. Many in Beiliang had initially believed Xie Xichui was better suited for the role of Liu Zhou General than Kou Jianghuai. Yet, even though Xie Xichui and Cao Wei’s cavalry had ultimately annihilated ten thousand infantry and three thousand Southern Dynasty border cavalry, Xie Xichui had lost much of the army’s trust. From Jubei City to the distant Youzhou infantry command, the Beiliang Protectorate, and the Left and Right Cavalry garrisons, many now questioned Xie Xichui’s judgment. The Beiliang border army despised battlefield abandonment above all else—a sentiment rooted in the early days of the Xu Family Army, when similar betrayals had cost them dearly during the expansion of the Liyang Dynasty. Worse still, Xie Xichui’s actions carried the stench of preserving his own forces for personal glory.
Under the young Prince’s policies, veteran general Yang Shenxing, gradually accepted by the Beiliang border army as Deputy Military Commissioner, held significant authority in this matter, second only to the Protectorate overseen by Chu Lushan. Yet, the more power he wielded, the more cautious Yang Shenxing became, prompting him to immediately notify the young Prince. Yang Shenxing knew the real challenge lay not in placating the Fengxiang Garrison commander or even in disciplining Xie Xichui, who had already earned two major victories, but in avoiding a rift between the old and new generations of Beiliang commanders. More troubling was the fact that this divide, obvious to the entire Beiliang border army, had been engineered by none other than the young Prince standing behind the desk. From the early promotion of Youzhou Cavalry Commander Yu Luandao to the meteoric rise of Cao Wei, the current dominance of Kou Jianghuai and Xie Xichui in Liu Zhou, the appointment of Xu Huang as Jubei City Governor, and the earlier elevation of Youzhou General Huangfu Ping and Heavy Cavalry Deputy Commander Hong Biao—alongside outsiders like Xu Beizhi and Liu Zhou Deputy Governor Chen Xiliang—the new Prince of Beiliang had aggressively promoted young talent and outsiders with no prior ties to Beiliang. Thus, this impeachment had torn open a veil that even entrenched veterans like Yan Wenluan and He Zhonghu had dared not—or more accurately, preferred not to—pierce.
Bai Yu stepped forward, picked up the memorial, and held it so close to his face that it nearly touched his nose—a comical sight, yet no one laughed.
Liu Zhou Governor Yang Guangdou, the highest-ranking official in the region, had appended a scathing three-hundred-character critique to the memorial, condemning Xie Xichui even more harshly than the Fengxiang Garrison commander. His most damning line—”If my Youzhou infantry veterans can die, why can’t your Lantuo Mountain monks?”—struck a chord with the entire Beiliang border army.
Chen Xiliang’s endorsement was milder but still critical: “Deputy General Xie Xichui’s actions do not violate Beiliang military law, but they are inexcusable in spirit.”
As for Kou Jianghuai, who had clashed with Xie Xichui back in Guangling Dao during the Chu rebellion, his response was succinct: “Noted.”
Though Bai Yu’s poor eyesight forced him to hold reading material unusually close, the former child prodigy of Longhu Mountain, famed for his photographic memory, skimmed the memorial swiftly. Handing it to Governor Li Gongde, he broke the silence with a smile: “General Kou’s calligraphy is quite impressive.”
And then he said nothing more.
Yang Shenxing could only sigh inwardly. He had hoped Bai Yu, given his unique status in Beiliang, would help break the deadlock—for the Prince’s sake, if not his own. Instead, he got this.
Governor Li Gongde, treating the memorial like a hot potato, skimmed it and nearly complimented Chen Xiliang’s handwriting before thinking better of it and passing it silently to Li Yanchao. The newly appointed Right Cavalry Deputy Commander, one of Beiliang’s “Four Fangs” alongside Ning Emei, Dian Xiongchu, and Wei Fucheng, had caused a stir by defecting from He Zhonghu’s Left Cavalry to join Zhou Kang’s command. After reviewing the memorial, Li Yanchao, unlike the evasive civilian leaders Bai Yu and Li Gongde, addressed the young Prince directly: “This general believes General Xie’s actions not only comply with military law but are entirely justified!”
Encouraged by the Prince’s nod, Li Yanchao continued firmly: “Governor Yang accuses General Xie of hoarding troops to avoid Lantuo Mountain monk casualties. But those present here know full well the brutality of the Miyun Pass battle—how Cao Wei’s ten thousand elite cavalry suffered, and how Xie Xichui’s forces fared. I’ve never met Xie Xichui, but I understand his tactics: on any battlefield under his command, he weighs every cost. Had the Lantuo monks joined Fengxiang’s defense earlier, without deliberately exposing weaknesses to lure the enemy, would the ten thousand infantry and three thousand cavalry have lingered outside the walls for two days? Without that, could Cao Wei’s cavalry have intercepted the retreating Northern Desert remnants? In my view, the Fengxiang commander deserves credit for his defense, and his impeachment of Xie Xichui is understandable—but General Xie’s actions were not only justified but crucial to victory!”
Handing the memorial to an aide, Li Yanchao clasped his fists and declared: “If General Xie ever comes to Jubei City, I, Li Yanchao, would gladly hold his horse’s reins!”
For a deputy commander of the Beiliang border army to offer such a gesture was the highest honor imaginable.
Xu Xiao, the “Butcher,” had held the reins for only two men in his life: one for the still-living veteran Lin Doufang, and the other for a fallen comrade, leading the corpse-laden horse back to camp.
Xu Huang, stroking his beard, asked gravely: “Your Highness, has General Xie submitted any memorial to Jubei City in his defense? We shouldn’t judge based on one side alone.”
Xu Fengnian shook his head. “There is one, but it doesn’t address Fengxiang’s defense. It only explains why he didn’t commit the ten thousand monks to hold the garrison or pursue the retreating seven thousand infantry.”
The mystery of why the Lantuo monks in Linyao Garrison hadn’t sallied forth puzzled Jubei City. Given Xie Xichui’s proven foresight and decisiveness, he should have ordered the female Bodhisattva of Lantuo Mountain to engage the enemy, allowing Cao Wei’s cavalry—renowned for their speed—to intercept the infantry at Gusai’s southeastern border. Yet Xie Xichui had let this easy victory slip away. Had he annihilated the twenty thousand infantry and six thousand Southern Dynasty cavalry, securing most of the western front beyond Qingcang, this impeachment would never have caused such hesitation in Jubei City. In the end, Beiliang’s martial ethos meant victory spoke loudest.
Yang Shenxing asked curiously: “Your Highness, how did General Xie explain himself?”
Xu Fengnian replied calmly: “Xie Xichui stated that the western Liu Zhou front was already settled, and the few thousand Northern Desert infantry left behind were inconsequential. But in the northern Qingcang region—the main front against Huang Songpu’s forces—having fifteen thousand Lantuo monks versus just ten thousand would make a world of difference.”
Xu Huang, well-versed in warfare, pondered this before sighing: “I, too, would hold General Xie’s reins.”
Xu Fengnian suddenly smiled. “Xie Xichui has won two astonishing victories, and Kou Jianghuai’s second interception battle reduced Huang Songpu’s hundred-thousand-strong cavalry to infantry. The Liu Zhou front is stabilizing—now it’s our turn in Liangzhou.”
Seating himself in Yang Shenxing’s chair, Xu Fengnian spread out paper and prepared to write. Before putting brush to paper, he addressed the room: “I’ll write to the Fengxiang Garrison commander to explain. Gentlemen, Jubei City and the lands beyond are in your hands.”
The tension in the room dissolved.
As Li Gongde stepped over the threshold, he remarked cheerfully to Governor Xu Huang beside him: “Our Prince’s calligraphy is truly exceptional—bold and spirited…”
Xu Huang chuckled: “From this distance, do you really think His Highness can hear you?”
Li Gongde whispered: “The Prince is a grandmaster on the martial rankings, you know.”
Xu Huang raised a thumb: “Impressive!”
Inside, Xu Fengnian, drafting his letter, could only shake his head in amusement.
Just then, a spy from the Fushui Division led a veiled woman to the threshold. Though the room was Beiliang’s most secure military hub, the spy deemed it improper to announce her identity openly.
Xu Fengnian set down his brush and looked up.
The spy didn’t speak but mouthed two words silently:
*Dong Yue.*
Xu Fengnian bolted to his feet.
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