In a quiet corner of the imperial palace in Xijing, a small building stood isolated. Before it, a large crowd knelt in the corridor, while nearby lay many corpses. These were no ordinary deaths; all were cultivators of Qi, men highly valued by the northern empire.
Beneath the eaves of the building stood an elderly woman clad in black robes and a white fur. Her hands were folded in her sleeves, which flared like bat wings when she moved.
This aged woman, before whom all northern men bowed, rarely showed anger, but today her expression was grim. First, the Daoist Master Nan Ming of the Moral Sect, who lived within the building and was skilled in divination, had trembled as he told her that the Copper Man Patriarch of the Music and Sword Bureau had vanished without a trace, and that the Sword Qi Master Huang Qing was undoubtedly dead. Then, the nation’s most treasured artifact, a dormant vat, had been shattered by a palm strike from an unknown land immortal. A real dragon, nurtured for over twenty years at great cost, had burst forth from the vat. That alone would have been tolerable, but amidst peals of thunder, the opportunistic celestial dragon had failed to gain even the slightest advantage. Thus, she had decisively decided to lend it aid, for she had always been willing to gamble with Heaven itself. She never approached the gaming table unless she was ready to stake everything. The last time she had won, reaping great rewards, the entire Northern Empire had followed her name. But this time, the Master Nan Ming told her she had lost. The hundred-odd corpses outside the building were proof enough. In truth, her fury was not at losing a minor battle in Liuzhou to the Beiliang forces, nor at the death of a dragon, nor even at the deaths of the cultivators, who had always been more concerned with spirits than the people’s welfare.
What truly made the aged woman unbearable was a trivial matter she could not even voice: in her most destitute and pitiful days, she had been defeated by an unknown brute from Liaodong, and when her power was at its height, she had again been defeated by his son!
Tai Ping Ling stood at the woman’s side. He was the only Northern Empire official still daring to remain standing.
Finally, she spoke.
“Send an edict to Dong Zhuo, granting him authority to mobilize all border troops at will. Regardless of whether they are generals or regional commanders, all must obey his orders. Those who defy will be executed by Dong Zhuo first and reported afterward!”
“Send an edict to Tuoba Pusa, ordering him to lead his elite forces southward immediately, heading straight for Liuzhou.”
“Send an edict to Li Mi Bi, to begin preparations for the ‘Carp Crossing the River.'”
“Send an edict to Huang Song Pu, ordering him to resume command and take charge of defending Xijing.”
One imperial decree after another issued from her lips.
After all, she was an aged woman nearing her twilight years. Her energy was inevitably waning, and for a moment, she showed signs of fatigue. Yet she would not allow even this brief moment of slackness today. She abruptly pulled her hands from her wide sleeves, tore off the old fox fur she wore, and threw it into the snowy ground outside the steps before striding away, not even glancing back at the old item now buried in accumulating snow.
※※※
The city of Tai’an was never short of excitement, but many events were difficult to attend. Once an opportunity arose, everyone rushed to participate.
At present, there were rumors that the new Right Sacrificial Libationer of the Imperial Academy, who had replaced Jin Sanlang, would give a lecture on martial arts. Whether he was merely theorizing or truly possessed profound strategies, the only way to know was to see for oneself. Most people went simply to witness the spectacle.
Jin Lanting, the current Vice Minister of Rites, was quite popular within the Imperial Academy. During his tenure, he had secured numerous imperial favors for the academy and founded the most renowned poetry society in the capital. Together with seven other talents, he was known as the “Eight Elegants of Tai’an,” including the top three graduates of the recent imperial examination: the Zhuangyuan Li Jifu, the Bangyan Gao Ting Shu, and the Bangyan Wu Congxian. Among them, Gao Ting Shu, known as the “Poetic Ghost,” had composed the famous “Drunk Eight Immortals” at a banquet, instantly making the eight participants famous overnight. Although the eight Elegants came from vastly different backgrounds, they often composed poetry together, displaying the refined and elegant demeanor of scholarly gentlemen. It was evident to all that although Jin Sanlang was not particularly favored by the central ministers, the “momentum” he had gradually built up was already formidable.
The sudden appointment of Sun Yin, a minor official from the Menxia Province, to fill the prestigious vacancy of Right Sacrificial Libationer seemed particularly abrupt and disrespectful. More strangely, there was no indication that Sun Yin had any powerful backers. Thus, Sun Yin’s abrupt rise, combined with the appointment of Xu Gong from the provinces to the Ministry of War and the meteoric rise of Chen Wang, became the “Three Great Surprises” of the officialdom in the late year of Xiangfu. These events were particularly eye-catching. Although Xu Gong, who bore the identity of the Xu family of Gumu, had previously served as the Dragon General, and Chen Wang, the Young Guardian, had the dual credentials of Crown Prince’s Tutor and Director of the Bureau of Evaluations, Sun Yin remained an enigma.
Moreover, Sun Yin was extremely arrogant, publicly declaring that his lecture would be a grand military exercise. He would act as the attacking force, commanding two armies: the hundred thousand Northern Empire cavalry and the remnants of the Xichu restorationists in Guangling Province.
All the attendees were part of the defensive force, including the newly appointed The Valiant and Resolute General Lu Shengxiang, the commander of the southern campaign, the two Liaodong defense lines led by the Grand Columnar Gu Jiantang, all the feudal lords who participated in the pacification campaigns, and finally, of course, the Beiliang cavalry, which had been deliberately forgotten by the Central Plains for many years.
This unprecedented verbal confrontation, which could be described as a battle of wits and words, attracted a massive turnout of six thousand students from the Imperial Academy. In fact, most of them were destined not to hear what the new Libationer had to say. However, there was no need to worry, as information would soon be passed from the front to the back, layer by layer, like waves. Those who arrived early and secured spots sat on the ground, while those who came later had to stand, and those who arrived even later had to stand on tiptoe and stretch their necks. Finally, those who came last had to stand on benches and chairs. However, the best seats, not far from the “madman” Sun, were placed with many simple but sturdy cushions, about thirty in total. Those who had the privilege of sitting on the cushions were truly considered to be of the highest honor!
The person at the head of the group was none other than the first Chancellor of the Liyang court in the past thirty years, the head of the Zhongshu Province, Qi Yanglong. To the left of the Zhongshu Ling was Huan Wen, the head of the Menxia Province, known as the Old Man Tantan, and to the right was the “disappointed person” who had failed to succeed Bai Guo as the Minister of Rites during the power struggle, continuing to preside over the Imperial Academy as the master of Neo-Confucianism, Yao Bai Feng. There was also Bai Guo, who had moved from the Clear Water Yamen of the Ministry of Rites to the powerful Ministry of Revenue. Additionally, there was a royal relative who was particularly pleased despite the severe winter season—yes, that was the Prince of Chai, who had entered the capital’s view with the help of his excellent son-in-law.
The long lecture on martial arts continued from noon until dusk without showing any sign of conclusion, yet not a single person left, and new faces continued to pour in, creating a sea of people.
During this time, the Crown Prince, who was overseeing the empire, quietly joined halfway through, accompanied by the Crown Princess.
Soon after, Zhao You Ling, the former Minister of Personnel and now an assistant minister in the Zhongshu Province, broke through the crowd without hiding his identity and participated, sitting on a temporarily added cushion.
Compared to Zhao You Ling, Yin Maochun, who had been promoted from the head of the Hanlin Academy to the Minister of Personnel, was much more reserved and low-key. He arrived at the Imperial Academy with minimal entourage, standing shoulder to shoulder with Chen Wang, the young and remarkably talented Left Attendant of the Menxia Province. Neither could see anything nor hear anything, but these two great figures, one being the head of the outer court at the second rank and the other the most refined and esteemed at the third rank, stood there for two full hours. Because they were positioned very far back, without any retinue or wearing the official robes of high rank, and surrounded by ordinary students of the Imperial Academy who had spent years studying the classics, no one knew that these two high officials were standing so close to them, mistaking them for ordinary scholars of Tai’an.
The Imperial Academy continued to be noisy and lively, becoming the focus of discussion throughout the capital. The taverns and teahouses outside the academy were also packed, waiting for the outcome of the debate.
Continuously, scholars and students ran to the streets to loudly report the “latest battle updates.”
However, in the nearly empty Hanlin Academy, two old faces appeared, one being Yuan Xiansheng, who had been frustrated and down for many years, and the other making the on-duty officials almost want to roll their eyes openly. In the past, when the two scholars of the Song family dominated the literary world, the official had to praise them in front of and behind people, calling them the young phoenix of the Song family. But now, not only had both scholars died without any honor, who didn’t know that the once glorious Song family had no chance of revival? A featherless young phoenix was worse than a chicken, so who would still regard Song Kelǐ, demoted to a minor county official in a poor place, as significant? If such a cold stove could still burn, the official would eat all the stove ashes!
This official of the seventh rank in the Qingliu faction did not overly display his attitude or give face, after all, Yuan Pu, the former Yellow Gate official Yuan Huangmen, who had gone out to visit relatives, was still employed in the Hanlin Academy. They would meet again sooner or later, so it was unnecessary to damage the accumulated merits of years of being versatile and careful for the sake of Song Kelǐ.
After Yuan Pu, or rather Yuan Benxi, the imperial tutor of Liyang, sat down in his room, his half-inch tongue naturally spoke indistinctly, “Not going to the Imperial Academy to take a look? That is where your Song family rose.”
Song Kelǐ, who had traveled with Yuan Xiansheng across rivers and lakes, shook his head calmly, “Revisiting old places is of no help.”
Yuan Benxi was silent for a moment, then slowly said, “Chen Wang, Sun Yin, they will be your political enemies in the future. Whether in terms of achievements or scholarship, they are no less than you. However, these two have moved from the shadows to the light first, which is your biggest disadvantage, but also your only advantage.”
Song Kelǐ nodded.
※※※
In the evening, at the Zhao Jia Jar Ministry of Works not far from the Hanlin Academy, a tall old man with a purple beard and green eyes walked alone to the imperial street, standing in the middle of the grandest and widest street under heaven, with his back to the palace gate, gazing at the southern sky.
The old man suddenly recalled a chance encounter from his youth. At that time, that person was also young, at least his legs were not lame.
At that time, he had been deliberately held back in the Hanlin Academy by his teacher, while his close friend had already served as the Director of the Ministry of War. The other fellow jinshi had each obtained a promising future. It was a time when scholars were oppressed by warriors, and ten years earlier, scholars were like entertainers, only fit to be echoers for generals in the court. If one went back another few decades, the empire was fragmented by warlords everywhere, and everyone was carving out their own territories. Scholars could not even be echoers; if their flattery was not done correctly, or if they flattered beautifully but were misunderstood or not understood by the warriors, they might be directly beheaded. In such a dynasty, not only was it not the orthodox Great Chu of the Central Plains, even the Eastern Yue, which willingly served as a servant to the Great Chu, had the right to mock this northern neighbor as a group of uncivilized barbarians. And because he had a purple beard and green eyes, even the northerners in the eyes of the Central Plains would mock him.
On a slightly better day for scholars in a slightly better autumn season, it was a gloomy day. He went to the Ministry of War to ask his friend for a favor to borrow a map of the Liaodong border. After he successfully obtained the map, a heavy rain suddenly poured down. Not daring to let the rain wet the map, he had to wait under the eaves of the gate. But that harsh rain never stopped, so he could only wait patiently. Then he saw a young man come with an umbrella, holding a small wooden box. He did not like this person, because the young man exuded a strong aura of a martial artist. Judging from his attire, he was probably a minor officer tolerated by the court. The Ministry of War’s courtyard was deep, with several layers, and he guessed this person would probably stop at the first courtyard. Indeed, the man was stopped at the first courtyard, so he did not pay much attention. While waiting for the rain to stop, he occasionally turned his head and saw the unremarkable young martial artist standing alone in the rain, getting soaked, with the umbrella at his feet and the box open, white and glittering, probably silver. But this little silver was nothing to the greedy eyes of the Ministry of War officials; it was just enough for a few colleagues to have a drinking party.
He vaguely heard the words of the young man who had been rejected, repeating the same meaning over and over again, “I, Xu Xiao, guarantee with my head! Just give me a thousand soldiers for a month, only a month, and when I visit you next time, I will have ten boxes brought to you, ten boxes of gold!”
The rain kept falling, and he heard the young man in the courtyard continuously shouting and compromising.
From a thousand soldiers reduced to eight hundred, then to five hundred. And the boxes increased from ten to twenty, then to thirty.
When the rain finally began to ease, perhaps the officials inside, who were leisurely drinking tea and chatting, felt it was time to go home. Gradually, three or two high-ranking officials came out from the deep courtyards, chatting and laughing, walking past the young man without even glancing sideways. Later, a Director of the Department of Military Affairs finally took a look, but not at the young man begging for troops, but at the silver in the box soaked by the rain, Let out a snicker， It seemed like he also made a sarcastic remark.， At that moment, he was hiding by the entrance to avoid the crowd leaving the hospital and didn’t catch what was said clearly.。
He thought since the rain hadn’t completely stopped yet…， Might as well wait for my friend inside to finish his business first.。
Perhaps heaven never seals off all the exits.， He saw an elderly man clad in a robe adorned with tiger and leopard insignia, walking out of the courtyard with his hands clasped behind his back.， A subordinate official from the Ministry of War diligently held an umbrella by his side.， All the umbrella canopies tilted towards the elderly man.。
As the old man passed by the young man， Halt your steps， He kicked the box with his foot.。 Because the rain had lightened considerably.， He clearly heard the conversation between those of vastly different statuses.。
“ Where are you from?？”
“ General Xu Xiao， From Liaodong, Jinzhou！”
“ We lost the battle!？”
“ This humble general has seven hundred brothers. They devoured two of Hong Chengcui’s main battalions. One of the battalions is still a cavalry unit……”
“ What main force, what cavalry army，All nonsense! Losing is losing. I shall ask you but one question.， I shall indulge in a little gamble for amusement this once.， Here’s some backup for you. But, Can you recoup the cost?”
“ Can！”
“ Hmm， Alright then.， I bestow upon you this Tiger Tally.， You can dispatch three hundred soldiers from the Right Guard Army. As for the chest, By the way, How many did you say you were going to carry over earlier?”
“ My lord， It is. Thirty。”
“ Thirty?”
“ Fifty!”
“ Yo， You’re quite the quick learner.
“Not bad, you’re catching on quick.”
“Go, I shall grant you three hundred men.”
“Remember to deliver the chest directly to my residence later.”
“ Thank you, my lord.！ This humble general shall never fail to live up to your lordship’s grace.！”
“ Oh， Almost forgot.， What was your name again?？ This official does not wish to find himself in a situation where he desires to kill but knows not whom to seek.。”
“ Xu Xiao of Jinzhou Battalion！”
At last， The high-ranking official from the Ministry of War stepped out of the yamen gate.， By his side was the fawning official, eagerly holding an umbrella for him.， With one hand, he strained to lift the heavy suitcase.。
He saw the young warrior standing in the rain, fists tightly clenched.， The spine remains ever upright.， Yet now, he held an additional tiger tally in his grasp.。
The young man tucked the tiger tally into his chest.， Bending down to pick up the umbrella， Turn and walk towards the grand gate.。
He had already averted his gaze when the young warrior picked up the umbrella.， Eyes gazing at the nose, nose contemplating the heart, facing southward.。
The latter did not rush to open the umbrella, but under the eaves at the door. It seemed as though he was glimpsed.， With a cheerful smile, she took the initiative to ask,：“ Still waiting for the rain to stop.？”
He froze for a moment.， nodded。
Then the guy grinned at him.， He tossed the umbrella over with a swift, decisive motion.， Not giving him any chance to refuse at all. Striding down the steps， Treading through the mire，drifting further and further away
That day， He, Zhang Julu, remembered the name of that young warrior.。
Xu Xiao。
That year， The era name Yonghui had not yet been adopted.。
Two young people who met by chance. One is a grand secretary of the current dynasty who is not yet powerful enough to dominate the whole nation; the other is a great general who has not yet achieved feats so extraordinary that no reward can suffice. nor are they political enemies who never communicate with each other until death.
At the end of this auspicious Xiangfu year. Only he, Zhang Julu, now an old man, remains.
The old man standing on the imperial path slowly regained his senses.， Laughed softly. muttering to himself：“ I do not enjoy drinking. If met you underground, let me buy you a drink. But before that,， Let me hold the umbrella for Beiliang just this once. Do not for you Xu Xiao， Only for the people of Northern Liang, and people of Li Yang”
※※※
At the end of the first year of the Xiangfu era.， Emperor Zhao Dun returned from his inspection of the borderlands.。
The Censorate and the Six Offices of Scrutiny jointly impeached an individual.。
The Chief Grand Secretary of Liyang, Zhang Julu, was thrown into the imperial prison.， The imperial court announced the Ten Great Crimes of the realm.。 The emperor issued an imperial decree.， Extermination of the Nine Clans。
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