Our history has always demonized strategies and stratagems. This was the conclusion Yun Ye drew after personally experiencing things since arriving in the Great Tang. Li Jing’s surprise night raid on Xie Li was nothing more than taking advantage of cold weather to run a hundred-some li and attack Xie Li’s main camp. The core content had only one point—to catch the enemy unprepared.
Most wars have no marvelous or ingenious schemes. They rely on the collision of actual strength on the battlefield and the use of combat techniques. Whoever can utilize their own strength to the maximum is likely to achieve victory. This includes both courage and skill.
Xue Wanche’s stratagem was simply to let the emperor and empress see that their invincible fierce general was now suffering humiliation at the hands of slaves—this was enough. On one hand, it could let the imperial couple see his incomparable respect for imperial authority. On the other hand, it told the emperor that the glory earned by his past meritorious deeds was not even comparable to a slave favored by the princess.
His plan was just this simple. Now he had succeeded. He had just entered the princess’s residence when a heavy smell of blood wafted from inside. As a fierce general on the battlefield, he was most familiar with this smell. This was human blood. The blood of other animals didn’t have such a heavy fishy smell, nor would the scent spread so far.
The old retainer who had served him since childhood took the horse reins from Xue Wanche’s hand. Just as he was about to speak, Xue Wanche instructed: “This is a horse from Marquis Yun’s household—a fine horse. Feed it more bean fodder and cover it with a blanket. It just ran too urgently, and the sweat on its body hasn’t subsided yet. Don’t neglect it.”
The old retainer bowed and withdrew. Xue Wanche, swinging his horse whip, entered the inner residence. Under the plum tree were piled five or six tattered corpses. At a glance, one could tell they had been beaten to death with clubs. An attendant wearing a black gauze cap stood in the courtyard with folded arms, icy eyes fixed on those trembling servants in the courtyard. On the ground beside him, another six servants were being pressed down to receive punishment. Sixteen punishment-administering palace eunuchs took turns executing the punishment. The servants made no sound because their mouths were stuffed with wooden walnuts threaded with rope—they could only make muffled sounds. The water-and-fire sticks striking the servants’ backs and buttocks sounded like beating sacks filled with grain, only producing slapping sounds. Xue Wanche was very satisfied with this sound—this was the manifestation of not holding back in the slightest.
After all, Danyang was a pampered woman. She had never experienced such cruel scenes and wanted to avoid them, but she was firmly supported by two eunuchs who ensured she could see this cruel scene of punishment.
Seeing Xue Wanche return, Danyang opened her mouth and called out: “Husband…” She wanted to ask Xue Wanche to beg that eunuch to spare the groom who was being punished—she liked this person very much.
Before she could finish her sentence, Xue Wanche cut her off, saying: “The princess need not be concerned. I already had breakfast at Yushan and am not hungry now. I haven’t been in the military for a long time and have already become unfamiliar with these punishments. I didn’t expect to be able to appreciate such skilled techniques at home—truly not easy. Princess, you should also watch carefully. They are all experts at administering punishment.”
That attendant with not two taels of flesh on his face smiled upon hearing Xue Wanche’s words: “Marquis Xue doesn’t know—the methods of punishment in the military and within the palace are somewhat different. This servant witnessed military punishments when following His Majesty’s campaign to Liaodong.”
Xue Wanche laughed loudly: “So you’re someone who’s been on the battlefield! When His Majesty campaigned eastward, this old Xue was also in the army protecting His Majesty. We just never met. Perhaps it’s this old Xue’s good fortune. Old Xue has seen countless military punishments, but palace punishment methods—this is the first time seeing them. I must hear the attendant’s expert opinion.”
The attendant laughed raucously, pointing at Xue Wanche: “You’re fortunate that you obeyed discipline in the military and didn’t run into His Majesty’s wrath. You know Marquis Zhang, Zhang Liang, right? One beating with clubs left him crying out bitterly, and that was still when His Majesty ordered no fatal blows. Let this servant show you palace methods.”
Having finished speaking, he flicked his fingers. Immediately, those punishment-administering attendants quickened the frequency of their club-swinging. The clubs striking those servants being punished produced thudding sounds, interspersed with the faint sound of bones breaking.
Xue Wanche listened attentively for a while, then said to the smug-looking attendant: “This is clearly the technique of ‘light outside, heavy inside’—the skin and flesh remain intact, but the bones will break inch by inch. Skilled technique.”
The attendant smiled and flicked his fingers again. The falling points of those clubs began gradually moving upward. The wooden walnuts in their mouths had already been removed, yet they couldn’t make a single sound.
The attendant said smugly to Xue Wanche: “Marquis Xue, this technique is called ‘driving the lungs.’ Practiced to perfection, it can drive all the internal organs out through the mouth. These boys haven’t practiced enough—they can only drive out the lungs.”
Xue Wanche laughed heartily and deliberately squatted in front of that groom, his eyes as cold as ice. He prepared to watch how this person’s lungs would be driven out by the clubs.
The attendant hadn’t spoken falsely. The groom was already powerless to seek rescue from the princess. Blood water continuously gushed from his mouth, mixed with some pink-colored internal organs. He struggled to arch his body upward, and a large piece of lung lobe sprayed out more than a zhang away. His head dropped heavily and moved no more.
Xue Wanche kicked that lung lobe with his foot and said to the attendant with a smile: “I wonder what’s different about punishing men and women. This old Xue has only seen men punished in the military—I’ve never seen women punished.”
“What difficulty is that? The empress only ordered discipline. His Majesty said to beat them to death for a clean resolution. Only disciplining men but not women also doesn’t make sense. Come, drag out five more women and continue the discipline.”
The attendant’s casual sentence immediately threw the maids into chaos. Danyang looked at the chaotic, screaming maids, then looked at Xue Wanche’s ice-like eyes and pleaded: “If you want to punish, then punish me—don’t kill them.”
Xue Wanche said to Danyang with a smile on his face: “Thank Marquis Yun. If he hadn’t forcibly held me back to eat breakfast at his house, those around you would all be dead by now. Men like this old man and Marquis Yun charged three times forward and backward on the battlefield, killed countless enemies, and thus obtained today’s glory. How can we suffer humiliation at the hands of slaves? Marquis Yun is kind-hearted—this old man is not. If you saw this old man on the battlefield, you would definitely think I was an evil ghost crawling up from hell.”
“This eunuch has also been on the battlefield. Ask him and you’ll know what Marquis Yun looks like when he comes down from the battlefield. The situations this old man experienced were ten times more tragic than what Marquis Yun experienced. In our eyes, human lives aren’t even worth as much as grass.”
Danyang desperately shrank her body backward. She felt that Xue Wanche seemed about to devour her. For the first time, she discovered that Xue Wanche was actually this terrifying.
“Cackle, cackle, cackle! After Marquis Yun broke through the city in the Battle of Anshi and began massacring the city, when he came down to report to His Majesty, this old slave was right there in the central command tent. Marquis Yun was covered in mud and blood, the bloody stench so heavy it made one nauseous. The Marquis Yun of that time was not the Marquis Yun you see every day with a smiling face. This old slave hasn’t seen how Marquis Xue fights in battle, but looking at those campaigns in the merit registers, which one wasn’t a mountain of corpses and sea of blood? Princess Your Highness, the empress ordered this old slave to come today for discipline. This old slave knows nothing else, only how to administer punishment. That is to say, the empress and His Majesty have prepared to have this old slave use human lives to counsel the princess.”
Administering punishment to women was very troublesome. After two clubs, they would lose control of their bowels and bladder. Before twenty clubs, there would be no sound at all. The attendant smiled and took his leave of the princess and Xue Wanche. Xue Wanche escorted the attendant out of the princess’s residence. At parting, the attendant felt his heavy sleeve with great satisfaction. Based on his experience, it would definitely be no less than fifty gold coins.
Xue Wanche returned to the courtyard and looked at the dead bodies filling the yard. He helped Danyang, who had collapsed on the ground, up and sent her into the inner chamber. With a roll, Danyang burrowed into the bed curtains, hugging the quilt and trembling.
After Li Yuan’s death, Li’er had been very cold toward his brothers and sisters. Except for participating in Princess Changping’s memorial activities each year, Danyang and the others hadn’t received an imperial audience for a long time. The main reason was that Li’er was very dissatisfied with their domineering and arrogant disposition. Especially when he heard that his sisters were actually introducing male favorites to their nieces, he became even more furious. Not harboring murderous intent—Li’er could already be considered magnanimous.
“Danyang, you’ve always grown up in the deep palace, pampered as you grew up, not knowing how difficult it is to make a living outside. Your wealth comes easily. There will always be handsome men circling around you. Do you know? Those men who can only survive by living off women—in our eyes, they’re not even worth an ant. You are an imperial daughter, of noble status. At the very least, you should find a fierce tiger. If you couldn’t find a fierce tiger and found a wolf instead, I, Xue Wanche, wouldn’t be this angry. What does it mean that you found ants? You even want those ants’ descendants to replace the noble rank I won through a hundred battles? Are they worthy?”
“Do you know? The reason you could be so arrogant before was because the Grand Emperor was still around. Just you watch—if you still remain this way, His Majesty will definitely use you to make an example. You even dared to introduce male favorites to Gao Yang? Do you think all princesses are as shameless as you?”
“Who is Fang Xuanling? Hmm? Don’t you know he’s the current Prime Minister? When he displays his authority, all the hundred officials in the court must be silent as cicadas in cold weather. Fifteen years as Prime Minister! How dare you humiliate him? You’re seeking your own death!”
“We as husband and wife are actually just a superficial couple. Behind closed doors, you’re no different from a stranger to me. You want to seek death—why should I accompany you? On what grounds?”
“I’ll tell you the truth. How many male favorites you find, how many children you bear—what’s it to me? I’m merely the Prince Consort personally enfeoffed by the Grand Emperor. This is an official position, not your husband. This time I acted not out of hatred, but because I don’t allow you to recklessly implicate me. Having made things clear, from now on we’ll just live peacefully. You can continue finding male favorites and bearing children. If you like making yourself notorious, suit yourself.”
“But don’t go harm Gao Yang and the others. Once you do something that’s seeking your own death, I absolutely won’t be merciful again next time. This old man doesn’t need to see blood to kill people. You’ve been frightened—lie down properly for a while. I’ll go instruct old Wu and them to brew you a bowl of calming herbal medicine.”
Xue Wanche gave Danyang a fierce smile, then left the room. Looking at those servants kneeling on the ground, he told them to scram. He personally went to the kitchen and decocted a bowl of herbal medicine, preparing to invite Danyang to take it. This was what a Prince Consort should do. Xue Wanche had always been a dutiful and conscientious subject.