At the border of Hezhou, war was on the brink of breaking out.
From the direction of Youzhou, the earth rumbled like distant thunder. Cai Nan, the military governor of the Lianghuai region, clad in iron armor and gripping his spear, stood with a heavy heart. The tens of thousands of elite northwestern troops under his command were not destined to die in glorious battle against the barbarians of the Northern Wasteland, but rather in the chaos of internal strife.
The Lianghuai army positioned its infantry in the center, shielded by anti-cavalry barriers, with cavalry flanking both sides—a conventional formation. It wasn’t that Cai Nan didn’t want to pit cavalry against cavalry and engage the Northern Liang Iron Cavalry in a fair and decisive fight. But even with numerical superiority, he, like other remnants of the Gu faction, lacked the confidence to outmaneuver that legendary army. Cai Nan held no illusions that his Lianghuai forces could stop the young Prince of Northern Liang. His only hope was to take down as many of the Xu family’s cavalry as possible—two thousand, or perhaps three? As for how many the imperial court could intercept at the strategic passes between Jizhou and the Central Plains, that would truly be Cai Nan’s “legacy”—both in terms of territory and his own martyrdom.
Surveying the flat, snow-covered terrain, Cai Nan was struck by an unsettling thought: *corpses not yet cold*. In a few hours, his own body would likely freeze stiff.
The northwest was known for its heavy snows and harsh winters, breeding hardy warriors. The Jizhou region of Lianghuai had once been home to Yang Shenxing’s elite southern Jizhou infantry, renowned as the finest in the realm. As military governor, Cai Nan had inherited this legacy, and his Lianghuai border troops were soon regarded as the empire’s second-strongest force, surpassed only by the elite troops of the two Liao regions. Yet despite the recent promotions of several former Gu faction generals to key positions in the capital, Cai Nan felt not relief but a growing sense of danger. At its core, these appointments were the emperor’s way of trading high-ranking titles for military control—a bloodless transaction made possible only because their shared patron, the Grand Pillar of the State, Gu Jiantang, still stood firm at the border, commanding hundreds of thousands of troops.
Cai Nan exhaled heavily. If he sent Han Lin, the trusted strategist of the young emperor, safely away from the battlefield and then led his troops to a heroic death here, would that be a satisfactory outcome for both the Grand General and the court? Could it be called the “perfect loyalty” lauded in history books?
Having lived in peace for so long as a high-ranking official, Cai Nan only now realized that the reckless young man who once followed the Grand General, unafraid of death, had begun to fear it—especially a meaningless death.
The rhythmic thunder of the Northern Liang Iron Cavalry’s hooves struck Cai Nan’s heart like war drums, making it hard for him to breathe.
Without needing scouts to report, Cai Nan could see with his own eyes that the enemy cavalry had halted at the optimal distance for a charge. A single rider broke from their ranks, followed by roughly a hundred others.
Tension coiled in Cai Nan’s chest. This wasn’t some duel from a romanticized tale where generals clashed one-on-one for hundreds of rounds. Yet here were a hundred riders separating from the main force. Was the Xu scion planning to bolster morale by using his near-mythical martial prowess to behead an enemy commander in front of his own army? The thought infuriated Cai Nan. Did they think his crossbow formations were mere decorations? To counter Xu Fengnian’s battlefield prowess, Cai Nan had scoured the entire Lianghuai region for heavy crossbows, amassing over fifty of them—enough to deter even a full cavalry charge.
The lead rider advanced relentlessly, stopping only three hundred paces from Cai Nan’s formation. Even without his minor grandmaster cultivation, Cai Nan and his elite guards could clearly see the striking figure of the young Prince of Northern Liang, Xu Fengnian.
This was the man who had slain over a dozen top-tier martial artists, slaughtered three hundred thousand Northern Wasteland troops, and carved his way to infamy with bloodied hands. Even as an enemy, Cai Nan couldn’t help but feel a grudging awe. Among the sons of the empire’s older generation of princes, Xu Fengnian stood alone. The likes of Zhao Xun of Jing’an and Zhao Zhu of Guangling paled in comparison.
Cai Nan waved off his sweating scout and fixed his gaze on the young man between the two armies. Behind Xu Fengnian stood a hundred riders, unarmored and unarmed save for a single sword each—likely the famed Wu Family’s Hundred Swords, a topic of much gossip in the martial world the previous year. As a military man, Cai Nan had little interest in martial arts, his skills honed in the crucible of war. Yet this group of swordsmen gave him pause, and their leader even more so. Had Xu Fengnian not stopped three hundred paces away, Cai Nan would have ordered the crossbows to fire without hesitation.
The Wu Family’s Hundred Swords halted solemnly. This was their first return to the Central Plains since leaving the Wu Family’s Sword Mound for Northern Liang. Among them, the infamous demon Zhu Huang closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, savoring the air. “After breathing in the blood and horse dung of Liangzhou’s borders, this place smells almost pleasant. I wonder if the air down south carries the scent of wine and perfume.”
Xu Fengnian, standing just two horses away from Zhu Huang, smiled. “As agreed, once we reach the walls of Western Chu’s capital, you’ll all be free to go—whether to reclaim your place in the martial world or retire to some scenic hideaway.”
Zhu Huang chuckled darkly. “That offer doesn’t quite work for me, Your Highness. After killing a few too many Wu family members, their patriarch hammered sixty Binding Dragon Nails into me. Only a Wu bloodline can remove them. I’ve no interest in living in obscurity. If you could persuade the old man to free me, I’d gladly repay the favor—even if it means storming the imperial capital.”
Before Xu Fengnian could respond, Wu Liuding, who loathed Zhu Huang, snapped, “Try removing those nails, and I’ll hammer in sixty more!”
Zhu Huang sneered. “You? Even your sword maid has more backbone than you. The Wu family’s men grow weaker with each generation.”
The elderly swordsman known as the “Sword-Marriage Elder” frowned. “Zhu Huang, don’t push your luck.”
Xu Fengnian cut in, “We’ll discuss this at Western Chu’s capital. There’ll likely be a battle or two ahead. Let’s aim for zero casualties—on both sides. The martial world awaits your return.”
Wu Liuding scoffed. “Spare the martial world some seeds, eh? Most would call this idiocy, but you make it sound heroic.”
Ignoring the bickering, Xu Fengnian called out to Cai Nan’s forces, “Governor Cai, care for a parley?”
Cai Nan rode out alone, dismissing his officers’ concerns with a curt, “If Xu Fengnian wanted me dead, he wouldn’t resort to cheap tricks.”
The two met midway, a hundred paces from their respective armies. Cai Nan took a deep breath. “If you’re here to ask me to step aside, save your breath.”
Xu Fengnian’s gaze drifted past Cai Nan to the Lianghuai troops. “I recall sending you a message, suggesting you place your elites on the flanks and let my cavalry pass. Fewer deaths on both sides. Was that so unreasonable?”
Cai Nan’s expression hardened. “I never received any such message. As a general—”
Xu Fengnian interrupted, “You haven’t received imperial orders either, have you?”
Cai Nan remained silent.
Xu Fengnian smirked. “You think the court was caught off guard? That the spies in Hezhou failed? Even if my cavalry moved slower, those orders would still arrive just a step too late—always just a step.”
Cai Nan retorted, “And what of it? The court’s affairs are none of my concern. My duty is to this armor and this land.”
Xu Fengnian turned his horse. “I didn’t come to ask for passage. I came because an old man in the capital shared a truth with me.” As he rode away, his final words hung in the air: “If your Lianghuai troops are so eager to die for their country, Northern Liang will oblige. Against my Iron Cavalry, death comes easily.”
Cai Nan returned to his lines pale-faced.
In the spring of the third year of Xiangfu, the Snow Dragon Cavalry surged forth like a tide. The forty thousand elite Lianghuai troops were shattered beyond recovery.
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