Within the walls of Xiangfan City, in the Prince’s Mansion.
The young Jing’an King Zhao Xun, summoned to Guangling Road to quell rebellion, has achieved neither success nor failure. The entire Qingzhou, a vast territory, has been entrusted to a similarly young blind strategist to manage. Yet everything remains tranquil. He has neither achieved any eye-catching feats nor resorted to self-degradation to earn the new Jing’an King’s trust. This can be called the model of “a sovereign and his minister fitting each other well,” somewhat reminiscent of the partnership between the Yan Swallow King and Na Lan You Ci.
As night falls, stars twinkle in the sky. Lu Xu stands beneath the eaves, tilting his head upward to “gaze” at the brilliant starry sky. Beside him is the female servant, a loyal bodyguard planted by the Jing’an Prince’s Mansion. Unexpectedly, as days pass and they share hardships, the two have become inseparable. Yet this might precisely reflect the young Jing’an King’s unique acumen and subtle strategy.
“Master, you advised the King to only allow defeat and not victory, which will surely disgrace the Zhao family. The Emperor will likely blame him, won’t he?”
“Indeed, and severely so.”
“Then why did the King agree?”
“When a new ruler ascends, the old guard must make way. The previous closeness or distance no longer matters; only loyalty counts. Sacrificing a few thousand lives in Qingzhou to demonstrate loyalty should suffice. The old Emperor’s deliberate suppression of someone is merely laying the groundwork for the new Emperor to elevate another. Otherwise, who would appreciate the new ruler’s favor? History shows that wise rulers stepping down often act in such opaque ways, fearing that the new ruler may lack capable hands. Moreover, with inevitable chaos across the land, after this crushing defeat by the Crown Prince, besides declaring loyalty to the Emperor and the Crown, he can also extricate himself from the chaos, watching the tides of change.”
“Master, is this what they call a scholar knowing all under heaven without leaving home?”
“Compared to Yuan Master in Tai’an City and Na Lan Master beside the Yan Swallow King, I still fall short.”
“Master, you’re too humble!”
The blind strategist Lu Xu smiles silently.
“Master, tell me more grand the truth. Though I don’t understand, I enjoy listening.”
“What Reason? Just a bellyful of complaints.”
“Master, let me say something. Don’t get angry. If one day the King uses me to threaten you, rest assured. Threatening the living with a dead person is quite difficult, isn’t it?”
“Don’t do anything foolish. If you die, with Zhao Xun’s temperament, my days are numbered too. Otherwise, having a so-called confidant he cannot control beside him would make him sleep uneasily.”
“Master, are you giving me a clumsy excuse to live?”
“You’re not foolish either. But seriously, this reason isn’t so clumsy.”
“Master, you’re a good person. Living like this, isn’t it tiring?”
“What’s tiring about it? At the very least, it’s easier than those years when I played chess for money in Yongzi Alley.”
“Master, I think you possess great wisdom!”
“But I still can’t tell whether you’re wearing new or old clothes.”
“Just touch them and you’ll know…”
“Hmm?”
“After taking them off, of course.”
“Non-seeing is not proper…”
“Master, aren’t you always saying you’re blind?!”
Lu Xu suddenly smiles.
Then he softly says, “Zhao Xun, the name ‘Xun’ is called a precious jade in the ‘Huainanzi.’ But if we break it down, isn’t it just ‘a king for ten days’?”
Lu Xu sighs, “The backbone of our scholars will break in a few days.”
※※※
On the same night, far from the borderlands.
As distant horse hooves sound softly, the border fortress of Yanbao in Jizhou, rivaling a mighty stronghold, awakens like a slumbering beast. Almost instantly, countless lanterns and torches illuminate the fortress as bright as day. Outside Yanbao flows a moat. As the gates open, the drawbridge slowly lowers. Without making the seven or eight riders wait even a moment, they ride onto the bridge and into Yanbao. Inside the gate, a large group of Li family members kneels in prostration. There is the reclusive old fortress master Li Chulin, the eldest son Li Yuanya, who specially returned from western Jizhou, and a group of high-ranking officials rarely seen together. Everyone is present, except perhaps the eldest grandson Li Huoli, who died mysteriously after crossing south to Jiangnan. The entire Li family in Jizhou, veritable local overlords, is gathered here—something even the old fortress master’s 80th birthday celebration two years ago couldn’t match.
Among the seven or eight riders, the leader has an unfamiliar face. Pale and seemingly unable to endure the bitter northern cold, he wears a thick fox fur coat, a tribute from Liaodong. Perhaps he is aged, his former vigor now deeply tempered into quiet restraint, giving off no air of overbearing authority. Except for father and son Li Chulin and Li Yuanya, no one in Yanbao knows the identity of this dignified man. However, others catch glimpses under the brilliant lights and from the corners of their eyes, and begin to suspect. Behind the man rides a servant who turns out to be none other than Gu Jiantang, the sole Grand Pillar of the State and General of the realm. Except for the thoughtless youths and innocent children among the Li clan, everyone else immediately guesses the man’s identity. The honor of having such a distinguished guest visit is immeasurable, a source of immense pride and glory for the family.
Apparently having received prior instructions from Gu Jiantang, Li Chulin and Li Yuanya merely kneel to welcome him without adding any unnecessary titles. The man dismounts, smiling warmly: “The northern lands are cold. Moreover, as the ‘Liji Wang Zhi’ says, ‘An eighty-year-old may walk with a staff in court.’ Old fortress master, please rise quickly. Everyone else, rise as well.”
Behind him, the six riders dismount simultaneously. General Gu Jiantang, wearing light armor and a saber, silently steps forward to take the man’s horse.
Li Chulin carefully rises. On his aged and dignified face, every wrinkle seems to radiate an unusual glow. The tall old man, though still slightly stooping after standing, dares not make the man five paces away look up to speak. In terms of physical condition, even at eighty, Li Chulin appears more youthful than the visitor. At least Li Chulin exudes the aura of a man whose boldness has not diminished with age, while the guest visiting Yanbao in the dead of night seems visibly weary, especially under the silent presence of the martial arts grandmaster Gu Jiantang, making his aged demeanor even more pronounced.
As the man steps forward, the procession begins to shift, almost as if the guest has taken the lead. The fur-clad man walks ahead, deliberately inviting the old fortress master Li Chulin to accompany him. Gu Jiantang, holding the horse, follows closely behind. Then comes Li Yuanya. These four walk slowly at the front, followed by the five riders, each a high-ranking general commanding significant forces along the northern frontier. Lastly come the Li family elders and children. Blocked from view by the five riders, the Li family members unable to approach the famed General Gu can only look at the retreating figures. The seasoned old hands of Yanbao recognize most of them and deduce the rest, their astonishment evident.
These five are all high-ranking generals, with the lowest official rank being fourth grade. It could be said that if these five were to die in Yanbao, the northern defense line of the two Liao regions would be crippled. However, under the protection of Gu Jiantang, the unrivaled master swordsman of the realm, these five generals would find it hard to even die. Besides their high rank and power, these five share another trait: compared to the older generals like Yang Shenxing and Yan Zhenshun, though their achievements and fame are lesser, they are younger, none over fifty, with the youngest barely over thirty. On the border battlefield, where experience counts more than in the imperial court, these five are destined to become the future pillars of the military under the Liyang court. It’s even possible that the next Minister of War in Tai’an City will emerge from among them.
As the man walks along the wide road paved with large flagstones, he looks up at the long lines of lanterns and torches snaking upward like fire dragons, and softly murmurs, “This is the first time in my life I’ve entered Jizhou. I should have come earlier. The Zhao family seized the empire on horseback. I often tell the royal descendants in the Diligent Study Room that they must not become complacent or be misled by ancient beliefs that after conquering the empire on horseback, one should govern it off horseback. Instead, we must continue to rule while remaining on horseback. I say this, but I myself haven’t done well. By example, I fear some of the royal descendants may not value military and border affairs as much as our ancestors did.”
Li Chulin, a seasoned old fox, dare not interrupt the imperial family matters, only listening attentively without uttering a word. As long as the Emperor, who is incognito, does not address him, he remains silent.
The man who can calmly have General Gu Jiantang lead his horse and guard him is none other than the current Emperor Zhao Dun, secretly visiting the border. However, the Emperor did not issue an edict appointing the Crown Prince as regent when he left the capital. Instead, he waited until just before returning from Jizhou to hand a secret decree to Minister Song Tanglu of the Office of Ceremonies, who then made it public through Minister Bai Guo of the Ministry of Rites. This subtle maneuver allows many high-ranking officials in the court to ponder its implications.
This is the first time the old man has seen the Emperor in person, and his heart pounds with anxiety. Years ago, when the Han family was executed for treason, causing unrest in Jizhou, the Li family of Yanbao, who had married into the Han clan, was also implicated. At that time, Li Chulin, who had not yet passed the family leadership to Li Yuanya, showed ruthless resolve. He not only had the young couple bound and taken to the execution grounds in Jizhou’s capital, but also spared no mercy on their two young children. In the end, the two children, who should have borne the Li surname, died alongside their parents. Even now, though Li Chulin feels some guilt, he harbors no regret. Under the pressure of great circumstances, what are the lives of a few innocents worth? Overnight, the Han family, once loyal for centuries, became traitors accused of colluding with the enemy. Over the past decade, court and country alike have attributed this to the scheming of Chancellor Bi Yan’er, and now it has even become one of the key charges against Zhang Julu by the Censorate. This makes the old man, who enjoys reading history in his spare time, feel a sense of melancholy. Throughout history, scheming ministers have often blinded the Emperor’s judgment, only to be eventually exposed and punished. No one dares to openly criticize the Emperor’s incompetence. Honestly, Li Chulin deeply admires the current Chancellor, who, though maintaining a clean reputation, has faced opposition. If not for Zhang Julu’s insistence on fully supporting the northern border defense, dedicating half the empire’s taxes to it, the current Minister of War behind him wouldn’t be so effortlessly commanding today.
As for why the current Emperor would go out of his way to visit Yanbao, after receiving a secret letter from General Gu Jiantang, Li Chulin had a private discussion with his eldest son Li Yuanya. They concluded three main reasons. First, the Zhao court, or rather the Emperor himself, seeks to exonerate the Han family and needs credible evidence from Jizhou to convince the public. Yanbao, as an old aristocratic family rooted in northern Jizhou for generations and one of the victims at the time, would carry more weight in speaking out than the impeachment by the Right Sacrificial Officer of the National University, making it more “palatable” and winning sympathy from court and country alike. It is natural for everyone to push against a fallen wall, but the towering Zhang family wall that has stood for over twenty years in the court is not something anyone can easily topple.
Secondly, Youzhou has been restless, with recent overzealous and provocative actions, including the incursion of over ten thousand cavalry into western Jizhou. The court naturally fears that the young Xu family of Beiliang might completely turn against them. With the departure of the old general Yang Shenxing in southern Jizhou, the Li family of Yanbao, who maintains a private army of seven or eight thousand, inevitably comes under the court’s scrutiny.
The father and son’s final speculation is a personal matter and motive of the Emperor. After two unsuccessful personal campaigns, the current Emperor has never again ventured near the border, nor even visited the prosperous Jiangnan region. People mistakenly believe the Emperor focuses only on domestic affairs and neglects border achievements—this is a view held only by ignorant villagers. Li Chulin firmly believes the Emperor harbors an intense desire to conquer the Beiman, as it is the only way to prove his equality with his predecessor.
Emperor Zhao Dun ascends the stone path paved with large flagstones. Yanbao’s path is also known as the “Path to the Clouds,” a route many Jizhou officials walk for good fortune. But for the man seated on the dragon throne, the officials’ dream of rising swiftly is trivial.
Li Chulin feels a chill of fear. It is said the Emperor diligently governs while also maintaining his physical fitness. In Jizhou, people believed this fifty-year-old man could continue ruling for another one or two decades. Yet in reality, he seems so weak, needing to catch his breath every hundred steps. Could it be that the prosperous Liyang is about to face upheaval? After all, the current Liyang is far from peaceful—external threats from the Beiman’s hundred thousand cavalry looming, internal unrest with the revival of the Xichu, and even greater turmoil within the court, where everyone is on edge. If something were to happen at this moment… Li Chulin dares not think further, fearing even a hint of abnormality might be noticed by the Emperor beside him.
Yanbao rises like a mountain, tier upon tier, ascending higher and higher. The Emperor stops at a pavilion halfway up the slope, where the view is wide and open, to rest. He pulls his heavy fur coat tighter, remains silent for a long time, and suddenly glances westward, saying, “Old fortress master, you must have prepared a response for my unannounced visit. But you’ve probably thought too much and guessed wrongly. Let me speak plainly: the reason I came to Yanbao is simply to get a little closer to that place.”
The old fortress master seems startled, instinctively straightening his back before bowing deeply again. The seasoned old man, accustomed to storms, dares not utter a word.
The Emperor gestures, and Gu Jiantang steps forward.
Li Chulin, understanding the unspoken cue, quietly retreats to wait on the steps below.
The Emperor coughs a few times, his voice strained. “Jiantang, I’ve changed my mind. Tomorrow, you will return to the capital with me and accompany him on his final journey. Since I dare not face him, and none of the court officials are worthy, I’ve thought it over, and only you, the Grand Pillar with the title of martial arts, are fit for this task. I know a little of the thoughts buried deep in his heart.”
Gu Jiantang calmly asks, “Does the Emperor have any words to convey?”
The Emperor hesitates, then with self-mockery, says, “Just tell him that the ‘Dun’ in my name, Zhao Dun, bears no shame to the empire, except to him, Zhang Julu.”
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