Chapter 564: The Old Veteran

At the tavern, people were initially wary of the young man with the saber. However, when he rose, he did not seem angry or intent on seeking revenge. Instead, he stood there foolishly, beside the woman playing the pipa, and was naturally seen as a spineless rich kid who wanted to play the hero but lacked the courage to draw his sword. Such timid noblemen were rare in Beiliang. Those soldiers at other tables who had been throwing money around mostly came from influential families, otherwise they wouldn’t dare drink and listen to stories at the tavern while on patrol duty. Moreover, they were part of the elite troops assigned to monitor the behavior of the descendants of generals within the city. In short, should the young man dare to draw his sword, they could seize him immediately, whip him dozens of times, and throw him into jail, from which he wouldn’t be able to get out without spending hundreds of taels of silver.

The woman holding the pipa, Er Yu, looked up at the young man with a dazed expression. Although his appearance had changed, she was certain it was him—the young man who had once traveled through Beiman and sat at the same table as her grandfather. After a while, the man who claimed to be the King of Beiliang seemed to regain his senses, his lifeless eyes regaining their former brilliance. He turned around, his back facing her.

Xu Fengnian calmly said to Xu Yanbing, who looked relieved: “Block the entrance. Huangfu Ping will arrive soon.”

The woman with her hair tied up had summoned six divine forms but still failed to stop the celestial from departing. Her expression was odd, as if she were seeing the man for the first time. Xu Yanbing hesitated, then finally remained silent, walking to the tavern’s entrance. He closed his eyes and focused. A drinking guest sensed something was wrong and tried to sneak away, but before he could reach the door, he was thrown outside.

Xu Fengnian slowly approached the tables where the armored men were rising. He placed his hand on a Beiliang saber that had been removed from someone’s waist and placed on the table. The young officer, who was supposed to keep the noble youths in check within the city, tried with all his might but failed to pull out his saber. The dozen armored men were led by a sturdy captain, who had sharp eyes and recognized he had encountered a formidable opponent. Yet he did not deliberately show weakness. He said solemnly, “My lord, I am Captain Huang Yi, from the Huang family of Yihé County. You had better think carefully. If we each take a step back today, I can still treat you as a brother. If you leave this tavern, you won’t need to spend a single copper coin for drinks in Yihé County.”

Xu Fengnian expressionlessly replied, “Save those words for Huangfu Ping later.”

The captain, from the prestigious Yihé family, was deeply shaken. Just as he was about to speak, he heard the sound of rapid but orderly horse hooves outside the tavern. A veteran soldier would recognize the sound of battle horses. Although the captain was domineering, his martial skills were not to be underestimated. Even the Yuzhou soldiers, though considered inferior to the border troops, were far superior to those from Linzhou.

The captain gritted his teeth and coldly sneered, “The general of Youzhou may hold a higher rank, but my father fought alongside General Yan for many years. He is not someone Huangfu Ping can easily provoke!”

Xu Yanbing allowed Huangfu Ping, wearing his general’s uniform but not armor, to stride into the tavern. Seeing the Prince of Beiliang for the second time that day, he said nothing and immediately prostrated himself, kneeling and bowing.

Xu Fengnian picked up the ordinary Beiliang saber, ignoring the terrified guests, and walked to Huangfu Ping, asking, “I’ll ask you just one thing—do you know about what happened here at the tavern?”

Huangfu Ping, kneeling on the ground, trembled as he replied, “My residence is only three and a half streets away. I heard something. But as the General of Youzhou, I am only responsible for military affairs in the region and dare not interfere in civil administration.”

Xu Fengnian smiled, “What a dutiful general you are! Entrusting the military authority of Youzhou to you, I’d be hard-pressed not to feel reassured.”

Huangfu Ping, a third-rank general with real power, dared not even breathe heavily as he lay prostrate. Xu Fengnian suddenly extended his foot and stomped down on Huangfu Ping’s head, already pressed tightly against the cold ground. There was a loud thud. Onlookers saw blood flowing from Huangfu Ping’s face as it hit the ground. Yet the general, who had once appeared on stage during the grand military review at the beginning of spring at Hulu Pass, remained completely still.

Xu Fengnian coldly gazed at the back of Huangfu Ping’s head and muttered, “I gave you authority, but since you dare not offend anyone, I’ll take care of it myself.”

Suddenly, Xu Fengnian extended his arm. Captain Huang Yi, who had not yet bowed to the Prince of Beiliang, was involuntarily yanked forward in a clumsy stumble. The Beiliang saber was drawn, and another head rolled onto the ground. Xu Fengnian casually pushed aside the collapsing, headless corpse. The soldiers, realizing too late that they had encountered the new Prince of Beiliang, dared not draw their swords. The title of Prince of Beiliang alone was enough to paralyze them with fear. Moreover, wasn’t this prince, who had secretly come to Youzhou’s capital, said to be a top martial artist who personally killed the fifth master of the Tianshan School, Wu Mo? Their family backgrounds were not as strong as Captain Huang Yi’s, and they had no valuable talismans to save their lives. They could only kneel and beg for mercy.

Xu Fengnian raised the Beiliang saber. Its blade was as bright as a polished mirror. Though it had not yet been replaced with the newly forged “Great-Grandson,” the sixth-generation Liang saber, it was still undeniably the sharpest and most formidable battle saber in the world. As Xu Fengnian’s two fingers swept across the blade, the kneeling soldiers one by one lost their heads. Along with the first victim, Captain Huang Yi, sixteen men died instantly.

Xu Fengnian sheathed the saber and dropped it beside Huangfu Ping, adding, “You can keep kneeling,” before turning to Xu Yanbing and saying, “Bring in the deputy general of Youzhou, Yue Dian.”

A young general hurried into the tavern and knelt near Huangfu Ping. He dared not look at the scene of dismembered bodies or the crowd of kneeling guests. He only heard the Prince of Beiliang casually say, “Everyone inside the tavern will have their property confiscated. Those holding any official positions will be dragged out and executed immediately. Hang the corpses of these soldiers at the shadow wall of the General of Youzhou’s residence. Spread the word that I am sitting at the general’s mansion. Anyone who wants to see me—whether to claim a body or plead for mercy—will not be stopped from approaching the mansion’s gate.”

Xu Fengnian walked over, took Er Yu’s hand, and led her out of the tavern. The woman clutched her pipa, silent and sorrowful.

Inside the carriage, slowly heading toward the residence of the General of Youzhou, Xu Fengnian sat upright, not looking at the woman beside him. He softly said, “It wasn’t worth you telling stories for me. I just took a spiritual journey to find out whether you and your grandfather, one sacrificing your life and the other your honor, still believed in Beiliang. Was it worth it? I traveled to many places, and the answer was always no. Until the last place, where I met a family of ordinary Beiliang people who knew nothing of the great affairs of the world but worked hard every day. I realized that some things cannot be judged as worth it or not. I have already wronged you, and I cannot wrong those good people too. Er Yu, I don’t dare hope you’ll ask me for something in return to ease my guilt. I only want to promise you and your late grandfather that I will definitely defend the border. As long as I live, the people of Beiliang like you will have one more day of peace, even if it’s just one more day.”

The unfortunate woman, bearing no resentment or bitterness, smiled faintly. She looked up at his profile, about to address him as the Prince of Beiliang, but stopped herself and gently said, “Xu Gongzi, you don’t owe us anything. My grandfather said you were a good man, and I believe him. I think my grandfather, wherever he is now, won’t feel any regret. I won’t go to the general’s mansion. Let me get off here?”

Xu Fengnian turned to look at the girl. Her smile was pure, her eyes clear. She covered her mouth and softly laughed, “Xu Gongzi, you forgot? Er Yu only knows how to tell stories.”

The carriage stopped. The girl jumped out and walked a short distance away. Turning back, she held her pipa and slightly bowed in a graceful gesture toward the carriage.

The girl known as the Haha Girl, who had been leaping across rooftops nearby, crouched down on the tiles, shouldering the withered sunflower stalk she refused to part with, silent and still.

After the girl had gone far away, Liuqi Bodhisattva entered the carriage, sitting opposite the Prince of Beiliang. The latter tightly clenched his fists on his knees and growled, “Get out!”

The female immortal from Lantuo Mountain did not get angry. Instead, she calmly said, “Self-liberation is small liberation. There is also great liberation to seek.”

Xu Fengnian looked up, sneering, “Go to hell with your great liberation!”

On that day at the residence of the General of Youzhou, noble families continued to arrive to either claim corpses or offer advice. The number of corpses hanging at the shadow wall kept increasing. The Huang family of Yihé lost half their members. Soon, a series of mutinies erupted outside Yihé City. Deputy General Yue Dian led a thousand elite soldiers, killing until his hands were numb. In the end, he could not bear to raise his sword anymore. A strange spear-wielding man took over, continuing the slaughter until two Youzhou officers nearly rebelled by marching their troops to Yihé City to show force. Huangfu Ping’s personal guards had to increase from a thousand riders to three thousand. The internal conflict continued, and the outcome was inevitable—two officers’ heads were hung on the city gate of Yihé. The remaining powerful and arrogant figures in Yihé either knelt outside the general’s mansion, demanding action, or fled the city to join their relatives and other influential figures outside, all trying to pressure the person in question. Every noble within the city was stripped of their official titles, their properties confiscated, and they were conscripted into the army. Even Huangfu Ping and Yue Dian’s personal guards saw desertions.

By the end of the Xiangfu era, the great upheaval in Youzhou showed no sign of calming down. The fierce backlash from Youzhou’s military and political circles triggered the arrival of eight thousand Snow Dragon Cavalry from Liangzhou deep into Youzhou’s heartland. Additionally, Wang Zhi of Linzhou recently dispatched three thousand elite troops in full force toward the border of Youzhou. Not to mention the commander of Tongmen Pass, Xin Yinma, who had never left the pass before, also led six thousand elite cavalry in an emergency deployment. Furthermore, Beiliang’s Chief of Staff, Chu Luxian, personally directed the deployment, ordering Ning Emei to lead half of the Iron Floating Buddha heavy cavalry and two thousand White Feather Crossbow riders in a grand march to camp west of Youzhou, menacingly watching.

If General Zhong Hongwu, the Huaihua Grand General, had once been the shadow ruler of half of Linzhou, then Youzhou’s border troops and local garrisons had always been under the control of General Yan Wenluan. With eight hundred military families in Youzhou, most were considered disciples or descendants of the old general Yan Wenluan. Their escalating resistance finally forced an old man stationed at the border to act. However, he did not bring a large army south. Instead, he traveled lightly and secretly arrived at Yihé City in Youzhou. The carriage stopped outside the city. The old man, with one eye blind, walked alone into the city, walking down a street filled with a deadly atmosphere, all the way to the general’s residence, where the air was thick with blood.

The old man had assumed that the young madman would be arrogant enough to refuse to meet him or even swiftly arrest him, the commander of Beiliang’s infantry, on the spot. At the very least, he would be left waiting for days before being allowed in. But the old man guessed wrong. The young man was sitting alone on the steps outside the residence, as if waiting for him.

After the death of the Butcher, the old general, now the most revered in the Beiliang army, questioned fiercely, “Xu Fengnian! Why?”

Xu Fengnian, his hands in his sleeves, did not look at Yan Wenluan, who had once desperately wanted Xu Shao to ascend the throne. He gazed at the end of the street and calmly said, “I once heard a saying: Linzhou belongs to Zhong, Youzhou to Yan, and only Liangzhou to Xu. Xu Shao never cared about it, and I know that. Yan Wenluan knows it too, and Zhong Hongwu probably doesn’t. Zhong Hongwu heard that the imperial court not only wanted to cultivate his son Zhong Chenxin but also offered him a general’s position. If the Xichu Dynasty were to rise again, the Zhao family promised him the chance to lead troops for the Huainan King Zhao Ying. So he began to incite unrest in Youzhou, trying to drag you down so he could escape Beiliang in the chaos. These days, I’ve had my hawks watching you, but you remained still. In the end, you came to Yihé City alone.”

The old general angrily said, “The Great General could remain loyal to Liyang all his life, and I will remain loyal to Beiliang! What is Zhong Hongwu compared to me? Do you think I would stoop so low as to be mentioned in the same breath with him? Do you think I’m so eager to force me, Yan Wenluan, to roll up my mat and leave the border just to make room for your favorite men? Do you really think I’m clinging to the position of Commander of the Infantry just for power? Do you really think anyone can sit on that chair and hold it steady? If I didn’t respect you, Xu Fengnian, and if you hadn’t dared to defy the imperial decree, doing something that didn’t disgrace the Great General, I would have already led ten thousand troops south, splitting the cavalry and infantry. Then, what kind of Prince of Beiliang would you be? How would you resist the restless Beiman cavalry?”

Xu Fengnian smiled, “I know the old general wouldn’t do that.”

The old general was so angry he almost wanted to hit the cunning brat.

Xu Fengnian patted the step beside him, inviting the old general to sit and chat. Yan Wenluan snorted coldly, but Xu Fengnian did not insist. He continued, “My master spent his entire later years competing with Biyan. Do you know what my master admired most about Zhang Julu?”

Mentioning Li Yishan, Yan Wenluan’s mood calmed slightly.

Li Yishan had no regrets toward Beiliang.

Although Yan Wenluan was the heart of the Yangcai Zhao Changling faction, he still held no disrespect for Li Yishan, merely because their paths were different.

Xu Fengnian spoke softly, “It wasn’t as the old general imagined—how Zhang Julu restored the Zhao dynasty to prosperity, nor his mastery of court politics. It was rather that, when Zhang was rising but had not yet reached the height of power, he moved his parents and family early on to Tai’an City, ensuring no one could ever accuse him of favoritism. The Grand Chancellor had already foreseen that once he became the head of all officials, no matter how upright he remained, he still had a family, relatives, and descendants. If separated by thousands of miles, inevitably someone would use his name to bully the locals. Even if all the officials in court could only grumble silently, they still dared not openly impeach them. Yet the righteous spirit that supported Zhang Julu in governing the realm would inevitably weaken. Therefore, this is what my master admired most about Zhang Julu. Looking back now at our Beiliang, Xu Xiao, my master, never expected everyone to have Zhang Julu’s vision and magnanimity. Before Xu Xiao’s death, he still worried and told me to have tolerance in my heart, to forgive others for their mistakes. In the past, that’s exactly what I did. In Lingzhou’s bureaucracy, I endured and did not kill anyone, not a single soul.”

Yan Wenluan’s face remained gloomy, though slightly less so than before.

Xu Fengnian continued speaking as if to himself, “But I’ve come to realize that Xu Xiao wasn’t entirely wrong, yet not completely right either. The Beiliang we stand upon is nominally the Xu family’s, but in truth, it belongs to the people of Beiliang themselves. I, Xu Fengnian, could actually not care at all how lawless you might be, as long as you fight for the Xu family on the battlefield. Then I could feel at peace being the Prince of Beiliang, perhaps even earn a place in history. Not in the official histories, perhaps, but maybe a few kind words in unofficial records. They all say, ‘Since the father risked his life to seize the empire, ruling it is his rightful reward.’ I’m not saying you shouldn’t enjoy comforts, but enjoying comfort is fine, yet isn’t it also good to know how to cherish blessings? Old general, you and I, let’s speak honestly, as if to Xu Xiao himself—how many among the descendants of Beiliang’s generals in Youzhou, Lingzhou, and Liangzhou truly see the common people as human beings? I’m not saying this from inside the cool shade of Qingliang Mountain’s mansion, but from walking myself through Youzhou step by step until I reached Yihe City. I really want to say to every official in Beiliang: whether you attained office by your own merit or through your ancestors’ achievements, enjoy your comforts freely, but don’t harm people too cruelly. But such words can’t be openly proclaimed. Even if I sincerely spoke this to Zhong Hongwu, he would only think it a poor joke. What could I do? If he sought his own death, I could only let him go. Oh, by the way, the person who reported Zhong Hongwu was none other than the prefect of Longqing Commandery himself—Zhong Chengxin, Zhong Hongwu’s son.”

Yan Wenluan’s expression shifted between dark and uncertain.

Xu Fengnian gazed into the distance, biting his lip slightly, “Failing to manage Youzhou properly is not only Huangfu Ping’s fault, but yours as well, old general. Of course, if one day we fail to defend Beiliang, ultimately, it will still be my fault.”

The old man hesitated briefly, then climbed the steps and sat heavily on one several steps below Xu Fengnian.

Xu Fengnian suddenly smiled, “I remember Xu Xiao once said that you, old general, used to dream of riding into the Northern Han’s imperial city just as proudly as you did back then, and wished to parade freely into Tai’an’s palace.”

The old man, his back to the Prince of Beiliang, curled his lips into a silent smile.

Xu Fengnian spoke softly, “Well, forget that dream, old general. But a few days ago, my soul traveled far to the Northern Wei’s palace, and it’s not much worse than Tai’an. How about we settle for that, old general? Let’s try to gallop there instead?”

Yan Wenluan turned his head and asked, “Truly?”

Xu Fengnian smiled and countered, “It’s just an idea. As for whether I have the ability to make it happen, old general, do you really think I can do it alone?”

Yan Wenluan paused, then muttered, “Damn it, you’re just like the young general back then! He tricked me by saying that if I followed him, I’d ride so much my backside would wear smooth. And I, like a fool, actually believed him…”

Yan Wenluan fell silent for a long while, then looked up at the sky, murmuring, “But the general never truly lied to me, did he?”

He returned his gaze, suddenly standing straight, and said gravely, “If that day ever comes, even if I’m too old to ride a horse, I still hope that Prince of Beiliang will have someone carry me there. And if I’m already dead, since you promised to carry the coffin of that old soldier from Yugu Camp, Xu Yongguan, then surely you won’t mind carrying mine once either?”

Xu Fengnian rose as well, calmly replying, “Xu Fengnian thanks you, General Yan.”

The old man descended the steps, turned around, faced Xu Fengnian, and saluted with a bow, shouting, “Yan Wenluan of Yugu Cavalry, comrade-in-arms of Xu Yongguan, pays homage to the Prince of Beiliang!”

Then he turned and walked away, leaving Yihe, leaving Youzhou, heading toward the distant border.

Xu Fengnian sat back on the steps, rubbing his face.

Beside him, Xu Yanbing sighed deeply, “Back then, after the Battle of Xilei Wall, only sixteen men from Yugu remained. Even I didn’t know Yan Wenluan was one of them.”

Xu Fengnian nodded, “Even Xu Xiao never mentioned it.”

Xu Yanbing said, “Then count me in for the campaign to trample the Northern Wei on horseback?”

Xu Fengnian laughed, “It’s not like chasing a bride. What’s there to fight over?”

Xu Yanbing smiled faintly, sat beside the Prince of Beiliang, his eyes resolute, and slowly said, “Rest assured, as long as you’re here, Beiliang will have more than just three hundred thousand iron cavalry.”

The two sat in silence for a long time.

At some point, the girl known as Haha had silently seated herself behind Xu Fengnian. For some reason, her ever-present sunflower stalk had vanished. She rested her chin on her hands, quietly watching his back.

“Among Beiliang’s countless households, how many warriors’ bones lie buried beneath their armor?”

Xu Yanbing began to sing, slapping his knee in rhythm.

Fierce and stirring.

Which young man doesn’t dream of wandering the martial world with sword in hand?

Which young warrior doesn’t long to chase fame across ten thousand miles of yellow sands?

“Brave lads, don’t boast that heroes have all fallen into your snare.

Lovely maidens, don’t hide your yearning deep within your heart.

Come, come, come, listen who beats the drum of beauty.

Come, come, come, see who is the devil of this mortal world.

Come, come, come, ask who shall hunt the deer with me…”