“How has it come to this, how has it come to this, how has it come to this!” Li Yuanxiang, protruding his corpulent belly, hurried into Yun Ye’s command tent. His voice arrived before his person.
Li Yuanxiang wasn’t the only arrival—there were seven or eight other princes as well: Prince Xu Li Yuanli, Prince Han Li Yuanjia, Prince Peng Li Yuanze, Prince Zheng Li Yuanyi, Prince Yue Li Zhen, and Prince Jiang Li Xiao. In an instant, Yun Ye’s command tent was packed with princes.
“Originally it wouldn’t have come to this. But after Li Yuangui killed my subordinates, it came to this. I, Yun Ye, came from humble origins. I relied on my brothers below giving me face to secure this position as Grand Protector of the Beiting Protectorate. Whoever takes my subordinates as their targets—there’s nothing to discuss. I’ll take them as my target. Fight to the death!”
With one statement, Yun Ye completely shut the door on their hopes of negotiating. This matter was not open to discussion.
Li Yuanxiang struggled to squeeze his corpulent body into a chair, his two legs dangling in the air, appearing rather comical. However, Yun Ye remained vigilant toward this man from beginning to end. Heaven knows what schemes were brewing in that fat head of his. Since he couldn’t out-talk this fellow, he might as well set the tone for the conversation first: Don’t provoke me—whoever provokes me, I’ll beat them.
“Let’s not discuss Yuangui’s matter. He killed your men, so do with him as you wish. But surely Lady Wei and the children are innocent? Not to mention you and Lady Wei grew up together since childhood—there must be some feelings there. This Fire Phoenix Kingdom was a fief His Majesty granted to Yuangui. Just yesterday, Yuangui knew things had gone badly wrong and specifically consulted with me. He has already passed the throne to his twelve-year-old son. Marquis Yun, no matter how mighty your military authority, you cannot interfere with royal succession, can you?”
Yun Ye sighed and looked at Li Yuanxiang, saying: “The fatter you become, the cleverer you grow. I haven’t figured out—would Li Yuangui alone have dared to touch my supply warehouse?”
“Li Yuanxiang, in the end I too am of the imperial clan. Today let’s close the doors and thoroughly discuss this matter. Liu Jinbao, bring Lady Wei from outside as well. We’re all family here—let’s have a proper discussion.”
Liu Jinbao acknowledged and brought in Lady Wei, whose face was full of sorrow. After serving tea to everyone, he withdrew and closed the door. There were no outsiders left in the entire room.
“Li Yuangui is the biggest fool. If he had sent Egg Girl to find me, I could have given away many things I don’t need. There was no need to seize the equipment I stored in Suiye City. So if there weren’t several of you behind the scenes fanning the flames, I wouldn’t believe it even if I died.”
“Don’t rush to distance yourselves. I have no intention of examining this whole mess of accounts. Li Yuangui was willing to play the fool, so he must pay the price. Without making a sound, you’ve eliminated a formidable opponent first. That move was truly brilliant.”
“Then you come to me with emotional appeals and rational arguments, wanting me to take pity on Egg Girl and the children. A widow and orphans guarding an empty Fire Phoenix Kingdom—perfect for you to gradually devour. What an excellent scheme! It forces me to completely eliminate Li Yuangui to quell the army’s fury, while you instead gain the good reputation of speaking up for justice.”
Upon hearing Yun Ye’s words, Lady Wei sprang to her feet, pointing sorrowfully at the various princes in the room and crying out loudly: “That’s exactly how it was, exactly how it was! I told my husband that Yun Ye is the Protector of the Beiting Protectorate, and his relationship with our family is the closest. Now that he’s returned from the western campaign, he surely has countless spoils of war.”
“I only needed to swallow my pride and seek him out. Whether buying or asking for gifts, there would surely be great benefits. My husband initially thought the same. But after he met with you all once at Wild Horse Plain, he changed his mind, becoming single-mindedly intent on seizing the things in Suiye City as his own. Knowing full well there would be great disaster, he still had to brazenly charge ahead. You’re the ones who deserve to die!”
Just as Li Yuanxiang was about to open his mouth to refute, Yun Ye gently pressed down with both hands, signaling Lady Wei to quiet down. Seeing Lady Wei sit in her chair wiping tears, he smiled and said: “I’ve received His Majesty’s edict requiring me to hand over this land to your jurisdiction, so I will strictly follow His Majesty’s instructions. Tomorrow my army will return to Beiting and garrison at Gaochang. I heard that this time Xue Rengui hit the jackpot, obtaining the assignment to garrison Kucha. This was completely beyond everyone’s expectations. A lieutenant colonel promoted three ranks overnight, reaching such heights and gaining such an important responsibility—extremely rare in our Great Tang. I’ve been a broken marquis for over ten years with almost no advancement. Truly comparing people infuriates one to death.”
“Haha, but you mustn’t dare write that statement into a memorial! I cannot bear the charge of harboring resentment. I’m just grumbling here—after all, we’re family, aren’t we?”
Li Yuanxiang’s expression changed several times in succession. He couldn’t help but interject: “You’ve done your sowing of discord, you’ve done your despicable deed of diverting disaster eastward. Now I don’t want to hear your nonsense. I’ll only ask you one thing: Do you or do you not acknowledge our legitimate authority over this land? Surely you won’t have nothing better to do than lead your army to patrol these borders?”
Yun Ye shook his head, saying: “I won’t. Unless you all die off, otherwise I won’t come over. Let me reiterate: My army will absolutely not cross Wild Horse Plain. Even if you’re attacked by enemies like Tokhara, Bolu, Shache, or the Arabs, I won’t come over. However, you can rest assured—once you’re wiped out by others, I’ll immediately rush over to avenge you. After all, Great Tang’s territory cannot be trampled by foreign tribes.”
Li Yuanjia said word by word: “Excellent. I came from the prosperous Zhouyuan to this godforsaken place precisely to seek satisfaction. Whether I live or die, I’ll struggle on my own. If I die, it’s my bad luck. If I live, I can leave my son a kingdom he can freely control. I’d rather face those foreign tribes’ iron hooves than waste away waiting for death in Zhouyuan. Everyone here shares the same thinking.”
At this point he cupped his fists toward Lady Wei, saying: “Sister-in-law, fighting desperately to survive—that’s our current situation. From now on, our interactions will no longer be familial relations but relations between two nations. We won’t be soft when taking the benefits we deserve. Think it over. If you feel you cannot manage, then follow Yun Ye back to Chang’an. We guarantee everyone will present generous gifts, enough for you to live in wealth and honor for life.”
Lady Wei ground her teeth so hard they squeaked. Li Yuangui’s forces had now been completely eliminated by Yun Ye. She truly had no way to contend with these princes.
“There’s a man called He Shao. That bastard recently had a falling out with me. Like you, he wants to make his way in the Western Regions. Of course, he can only operate outside Almaty. If he dares step one foot into Great Tang territory, I’ll chop off his dog legs. He has two allies who have already seized a large territory in Shache and Tokhara, preparing to declare themselves kings. You can seek him as your ally. I guarantee that within ten years, he won’t have any evil designs on your Fire Phoenix Kingdom. After ten years, your son will also be grown. At that time, life and death will rest with fate! Since I must execute your husband, as a friend from the past, giving you mother and son some assurance is still feasible.”
Li Yuanxiang sighed and asked Yun Ye again: “Is the Yun family preparing to completely withdraw from the Western Regions?”
Yun Ye spread his hands and smiled: “Indeed so. The Yun family will only retain a bit of enterprise in the Great Snow Mountains. The rest will all be withdrawn. I plan not even to leave commercial caravans.”
Li Yuanxiang slid down from his chair, cupped his fists in farewell to Yun Ye, pushed open the door and walked out. Those princes also closely followed him out of Yun Ye’s command tent. Only Lady Wei remained, looking at Yun Ye and saying: “I intend to reunite with my husband for one more night. Is that possible?”
Yun Ye nodded, instructing Liu Jinbao outside to lead Lady Wei directly to where Li Yuangui was imprisoned.
The three-day deadline had expired. Horn sounds rose from the camel city. All soldiers slowly emerged from Suiye City, came outside the city walls and returned to their respective units, then were led by their officers to report and enter the camel city. For the warriors this was the final feast—tomorrow would begin the endless marching.
At daybreak, Yun Ye met with Lady Wei. Li Yuangui, grasping the bars of his cell, said to Yun Ye: “I’ve told my child not to hate you, and I myself don’t hate you either. But my corpse cannot enter the Pass. I swore an oath that in this life I would never see Chang’an again!”
Yun Ye was greatly alarmed and was about to step forward to stop him, but saw black blood flowing down from the corner of Li Yuangui’s mouth. Lady Wei embraced Li Yuangui’s head, continuously kissing it, tears streaming down her face. Black blood poured forth in great quantities from Li Yuangui’s mouth, staining Lady Wei’s lapels…
“Crane’s crest red! Beyond救援!” Wu She’s voice came from the side.
Yun Ye knew this substance—it was actually realgar, naturally occurring arsenic from nature. He didn’t know how it came to be called crane’s crest red. Once arsenic compounds entered the stomach, there truly was no hope of rescue, especially since he had already consumed it for quite some time.
Yun Ye watched as Lady Wei used a wagon to drag her husband’s corpse into the riddled Suiye City. He couldn’t help asking Wu She: “You’ve spent a lifetime in the imperial palace, so you have the most authority to speak. Is it really so terrifying inside? I too grew up in the imperial palace—why don’t I have such feelings? It’s just that there are more rules there, making it uncomfortable.”
Wu She gave Yun Ye a fierce glare, turned and walked away. He was unwilling to answer such an idiotic question. If the imperial palace were truly a good place, Li Yuangui wouldn’t have needed to commit suicide, and the Crown Prince wouldn’t have tried every means to rescue his own wife. Since leaving the imperial palace, Wu She had never mentioned a word about life there. It wasn’t that he couldn’t speak of it—there simply wasn’t anything good to say.
The newly equipped camel city regained its proper magnificence. All equipment that couldn’t be taken was left entirely for Lady Wei. This time, all those mercenaries and guards who participated in attacking the warehouse were killed completely clean by Cheng Chumo. However, Cheng Chumo didn’t touch a single guard from Lady Wei’s inner residence. If he had killed these people too, Lady Wei and her son would have had no way to establish themselves in the Western Regions.
These days had been very inauspicious, with constant deaths. Yun Ye desperately hoped to return to Chang’an with the greatest speed, to return to his own home. That was where he truly belonged. His grandmother was already extremely old. According to Xinyue, the old lady was now extremely fearful of death. She didn’t fear death itself, but rather feared that when she died, her grandson wouldn’t be by her side.