Li Tai returned alone to his base. He had no intention of accompanying Yun Ye into the palace to suffer. When leaving, he took three jars of oil—one of each type—along with a cartload of petroleum. He examined the military camp’s oil distillation equipment from start to finish, even pulling out a bronze caliper from his sleeve to measure some data, recording it with a pencil in a small notebook. Li Tai was always so enthusiastic about new discoveries.
Upon reaching the palace gates, Yun Ye’s ceremonial sword was confiscated, the dagger in his boot was confiscated, the exquisite crossbow hanging at his waist was confiscated, and the leather pouch of crossbow bolts on his back was also confiscated. The guards at the palace gate kept pointing at the longbow on Wang Cai’s back, the horse lance hanging from the saddle ring, and the flail dangling from the horse’s rear, repeatedly asking Yun Ye why he came to the palace fully armed.
Yun Ye’s cold gaze made these palace gate guards wary. Seeing that Yun Ye wouldn’t speak, they said they needed to report to the Emperor before deciding whether to allow the Marquis to enter the palace.
The tall, imposing city walls blocked out the already weak sunlight. Standing in the shadows, one would feel chilled to the bone in mere moments. The walls not only blocked the sunlight but also the cold wind. The air currents high above swept past the crenellated battlements with faint whistling sounds, while the lower air currents struck against the city walls, swirling dust in spirals as they lingered before the walls, seeking to break through. Breaking through these walls would not be an easy task.
The palace gates opened. The air currents seemed to find an outlet for release and rushed in all at once. Duan Hong, who came out to deliver the imperial decree, no matter how skilled his martial arts, was instantly turned dusty and disheveled.
After spitting out two mouthfuls of sand and wiping his mouth with his sleeve, he looked Yun Ye up and down in his full armor and burst out laughing—even covering his mouth. This was a very feminine gesture. It seemed this fellow not only had physical disabilities but also significant psychological issues. Unlike Wu She, who once he stuck on a beard was basically indistinguishable from any other man.
“Marquis, can you even use these things? And you chose such a large flail—a twenty-pound iron thing, how many times can you swing it? This three-stone hard bow—never mind whether you can draw it—just the technique of drawing the bow alone would take you three years to learn. The horse lance is even more difficult. You’d need to seek instruction from General Yuchi, the famous lance master. Look, even the hanging position is wrong. If it slips and gets planted in the ground, you won’t need an enemy to strike you down—your own lance will knock you off your horse. If the horse is going fast enough, you’ll go flying. To escape without a scratch, tsk tsk, that won’t be easy.”
“Duan Hong, are you here to mock me or to deliver an imperial decree? If you have business, speak up. Don’t think that just because your martial arts are strong I can’t take you down. Last time it wasn’t me who ended up hanging from a tree.”
“This servant wouldn’t dare provoke you. I’ll say no more. His Majesty summons you for an audience. Oh, and he wants you to ride your horse into the palace. He very much wants to see you fully armed and emanating killing intent. Just now the gate official reported that you were radiating killing intent and they didn’t dare offend you. His Majesty was very curious, so he ordered me to bring you, this Marquis brimming with killing intent, into the palace for an imperial audience.”
Yun Ye sighed mournfully. The effect wasn’t good at all. When he came out, he’d only thought about making a show of force, forgetting that Li Er was fundamentally a veteran of the killing fields who had seen all manner of generals. Scaring Xinyue at home would be fine, but trying to intimidate Li Er wouldn’t work even if Zhang Fei were reborn. Just as he was about to step forward, he heard Duan Hong say again, “You’re to ride your horse. His Majesty specifically instructed—ride all the way to the front of Wanmin Hall. He’ll be waiting for you there. Oh, and since I’m being a good friend, I’ll tell you—His Majesty also got himself a horse lance.”
Since he’d already prepared to put on a show, he had to see it through completely. Yun Ye tugged on Wang Cai’s reins. Wang Cai suddenly reared up, its two massive hooves kicking in the air twice. With a neigh, it charged into the palace. Duan Hong grabbed Wang Cai’s tail and actually soared into the air as well, touching down every few steps as he followed closely behind.
Passing through Taiji Palace, running past Taiye Pool, Wanmin Hall appeared before them. In the great plaza, Li Er sat boldly in a rosewood grand armchair—this furniture had long been all the rage in Chang’an City. Bianyifang never produced ordinary goods.
A horse lance was planted beside the chair, its blood-red tassels dancing in the wind. Seeing Yun Ye ride in on horseback, Li Er stood up with great interest. Fearing the chair might trip the war horse and kill Yun Ye, he flicked his lance backward, and the chair immediately shattered into pieces. The many consorts and palace maids leaning on the railings of Wanmin Palace all cried out in admiration.
The depression in Yun Ye’s heart couldn’t be more intense. To show off, Li Er had even made his entire harem come out to cheer for him. Li Er wore an azure everyday robe with the hem tucked into his waist, the horse lance in his hand planted on the ground before him. He was more like Wong Fei-hung than Wong Fei-hung himself. His harem had already begun squealing like infatuated fans.
Yun Ye really wanted to charge forward, but who knew Wang Cai would refuse? With a sharp spearpoint waiting ahead, it wouldn’t take another step forward even if beaten to death. Moreover, it recognized Li Er and thought this was just another game.
Wang Cai wouldn’t move forward. It turned its head back to look at Yun Ye with great dissatisfaction. Li Er walked forward himself amid his consorts’ thunderous cheers.
Yun Ye covered his face in embarrassment. That damned Wang Cai, throwing a tantrum at a time like this, making him a laughingstock again.
“Boy, covering your face at a time like this—on the battlefield that’s the road to death. With enemies right in front of you, you should be wielding that flail to meet them. Back in the day, when my lance broke, my longbow snapped, and I shattered two horizontal sabers, I relied on the flail to run rampant through thousands of troops and ten thousand horses. Boy, are you going to fight or not?”
Yun Ye climbed down from his war horse and said with a curl of his lip, “Under Your Majesty’s dragon might, even Wang Cai doesn’t dare advance. This subject is a mounted general—I’m not skilled at fighting on foot. When Your Majesty ran rampant through thousands of troops and ten thousand horses back then, you relied on this trick too, didn’t you?”
Having said this, even Yun Ye himself blushed. His flattery had reached shameless levels. But still, if he didn’t put Li Er in a good mood, how could he help those three idiots Li Chengqian, Cheng Chumo, and Li Huairen?
Sure enough, Li Er burst out laughing. He planted his lance in the ground, took the flail from Wang Cai’s back, and with a flick of his wrist, shook out the iron chain. Yun Ye watched as a dark, spike-covered iron ball whirled around Li Er’s body. The sound of wind whooshed loudly. Li Er shook it merrily, and finally brought the flail smashing down on the bluestone-paved ground. Stone fragments flew everywhere, and the massive bluestone slab was shattered in two by his blow. It seemed his claim of running rampant with a flail wasn’t empty boasting.
After flourishing the flail, amid the palace ladies’ cries of approval, he took up the longbow again and drew out long arrows. In just one breath, three long arrows flew out and embedded themselves in the distant wall, forming a perfect triangular pattern.
Li Er returned the bow and arrows to Wang Cai’s back and dragged his lance as he walked back. Yun Ye hastily followed. From the start, he’d had no intention of competing with Li Er in martial prowess. The man truly counted as a fierce general who had led cavalry charges of a hundred riders—he’d actually done it. Knowing he had no way to defeat him, he could only use clever tactics.
“If you want to save the Crown Prince, Cheng Chumo, and Li Huairen, boy, you’ll have to show your real abilities. I made a bet with the Empress. I wagered you’d definitely come to the palace within three hours. Now, only a little over an hour has passed—I’ve won. However, your coming here fully armed was beyond my expectations. The Empress said you’d definitely go mad. On that point, the Empress also won. So, my bet with the Empress ended in a draw.”
“The matter of the Crown Prince colluding with Cheng Chumo and Li Huairen to steal gunpowder is no small thing. However, I’m truly not angry. Qing Que facilitating them—I’m not angry about that either. What does this show? Do you know, boy? This shows that you truly haven’t been privately manufacturing gunpowder. You’re strictly obeying my decree. You still distinguish clearly between superior and inferior, urgent and trivial. This is also the point that makes me most comfortable. You’d rather go steal it than manufacture it privately—I’ll say you understand the stakes involved.”
“How about it? Being roasted over a fire doesn’t feel good, does it? You think I’m omnipotent? This time the civil and military officials together demanded that your Lingnan Navy retrieve the remains of soldiers who died in battle in the previous dynasty from Goguryeo. It was entirely justified and natural. I didn’t even have grounds to refuse. You’re a Marquis through military merit—going into battle to kill enemies is your duty. The Great Tang has no habit of changing commanders on the eve of battle, so this trip to Goguryeo is definitely happening. However, going is one thing, success is another matter. This whole affair was promoted by anger, not reason. Even if you don’t succeed, others won’t have grounds to blame you. So what do you say? Having heard my words, are you planning to circle around the Goguryeo coast and come back?” Li Er didn’t return to the palace halls. He waved to the consorts, then took Yun Ye for a stroll by Taiye Pool.
“Circle around? How is that possible? My Lingnan Navy is an army, not a theatrical troupe. Having reached that place, if we don’t properly display our military might and return empty-handed, that would be an insult to the army. This subject greatly covets Goguryeo’s wealthy cities. Without plundering enough and taking enough, they think I’ll just leave? Where’s the bargain in that? When my navy makes a trip along the coast, we take in nearly ten thousand strings of cash in goods. Having reached Goguryeo, why wouldn’t we take things?”
Following behind, Yun Ye explained his thinking to Li Er. There was no need to hide anything. Li Er, who’d risen to power through rebellion, understood better than anyone what it meant to mobilize a great army. Having expended state funds just for a pleasure cruise—he wouldn’t want that either.
“To forge iron, you must be hard yourself. You’re just a soft, flabby general—how will you strike this iron nail called Goguryeo? Better not end up abandoning your helmet and armor. If your losses are too great, you won’t be able to answer for it either. Losing one’s army and disgracing the nation has always been a grave crime. Think carefully.”
Li Er knew very well what kind of material Yun Ye was made of. As long as it wasn’t in situations requiring open, direct force, Yun Ye would have ways to greatly surprise others. But when it came to upright confrontations between two armies, cleverness alone couldn’t solve problems.
“Your Majesty, so-called warfare is nothing more than killing and arson. This subject’s subordinates are all experts at killing. As for this subject, I have a small bit of experience with arson.”
Li Er’s eyebrows rose as he uttered an “Oh,” and actually cupped his hands saying, “I’m all ears.”
Yun Ye said nothing. From the saddlebag on Wang Cai’s back, he took out a ceramic bottle stoppered with a wooden plug, pulled out the stopper, grabbed a cloth strip and lit it with a fire starter, then casually tossed it onto the artificial mountain in Taiye Pool.