At this point, Chai Jian confirmed that Li Zhigao and Han Qian’s night dash to Xiangzhou came with ill intentions. He stood rigidly at the foot of the steps, glaring furiously at Li Zhigao as he demanded sharply, “Li Zhigao, what is the meaning of this?”
“Troops cannot move without a general, a snake cannot travel without a head. If we don’t show His Highness sufficient respect, if His Highness cannot point the way forward for us, we will all find it difficult to escape the calamity of defeat and ruin,” Han Qian straightened his kneeling posture at this point, staring coldly at Chai Jian and Zhang Ping as he answered for Li Zhigao in a grave voice. “Don’t tell me that Master Chai and Master Zhang don’t understand such a simple principle, don’t observe such simple courtesy?”
“Li Zhigao, is this truly your purpose in returning?” Chai Jian continued shouting sharply at Li Zhigao. He never imagined that Li Zhigao would stand on the same battle line as Han Qian, openly forcing them to bow their heads before the Third Prince Yang Yuanpu.
“Without His Highness leading us, we are nothing but scattered sand and tangled hemp—we could never amount to anything, could never have sustained ourselves until now. I only wish to ask that you and Master Zhang know how to repay kindness with gratitude, and like us, show His Highness sufficient respect,” Li Zhigao said in a deep voice.
“Don’t tell me that Master Chai and Master Zhang believe you have nothing to feel guilty about toward His Highness? Don’t tell me that in your eyes, His Highness is merely a foolish child who can be bullied at will?” Han Qian asked coldly.
“We are utterly loyal to His Highness. Han Qian, don’t try to sow discord,” Li Chong finally understood that everything was Han Qian’s mischief behind the scenes. He gripped his sword hilt and spoke sharply.
Tian Cheng and three elite scouts restrained Li Chong from both sides, preventing him from moving, and forcibly removed the sword from his waist.
“Han Qian, you treacherous dog, what is the meaning of this?” Li Chong roared angrily.
“His Highness has not granted us seats, so the Vice Commander and I kneel as we speak, yet Master Zhang and Commander Chai stand there arrogantly and untamed. I’d like to ask Staff Officer Li—if this isn’t disrespectful rudeness, what is it? Don’t tell me Staff Officer Li thinks Master Zhang and Commander Chai believe their positions are higher than the Vice Commander’s, their accomplishments greater than mine? Or that because their positions are higher and accomplishments greater than ours, they can be wildly disrespectful before His Highness, ignorant of the distinction between high and low?” Han Qian paid no attention to Zhang Ping or Chai Jian, instead staring at Li Chong’s face as he asked.
“…” Zhang Ping and Chai Jian, no matter how stupid, especially seeing that Han Qian’s men had practically drawn their blades and held them at the furiously angry Li Chong’s throat, finally understood—Han Qian had persuaded Li Zhigao to return to Xiangzhou to stage a “military remonstrance” against them.
They had been aware of Han Qian’s unruly nature, which was why Zhang Ping had come over with Yao Xishui without giving him advance notice. But they never imagined Li Zhigao would be so easily persuaded by Han Qian, so easily have discord sown between them by Han Qian.
They never imagined Li Zhigao would directly mobilize his own direct troops to control Jinxing Ward, using force to pressure them into submission!
They never dreamed that Li Zhigao would betray them!
“We are utterly loyal to His Highness, absolutely without disrespectful intent. If we have said anything improper, please punish us, Your Highness!” Zhang Ping and Chai Jian gritted their teeth and knelt before the Third Prince Yang Yuanpu.
“Li Chong, how dare you not kneel?” Han Qian stared at Li Chong with murderous intent.
Tian Cheng and the three scouts reached out to grab Li Chong’s shoulders, about to force him to the ground.
“Release me!” Li Chong glared furiously at Tian Cheng and the others, but finally bent his knees and knelt before the hall, saying to Yang Yuanpu, “If Li Chong has said anything improper in the past, please punish me, Your Highness!”
Yang Yuanpu finally understood what Han Qian had been doing for him these past two days when he’d found excuses to leave Xiangzhou. His hands trembled slightly with excitement.
“Elder Brother, Master Han, please sit and talk,” Yang Yuanpu said, his voice quavering with emotion. He stepped forward to help Li Zhigao and Han Qian to their feet, filled with gratitude toward both beloved generals. He truly wished he could tear open his heart to show them.
Yang Yuanpu had a youthful temperament. Though he knew that forcing Zhang Ping, Chai Jian, and Li Chong to submit now would make the aftermath extremely thorny to handle, his blood boiled in his chest at this moment.
This moment made him truly experience the real meaning of struggling free from the shadow of Anning Palace.
It was the feeling of controlling his own destiny.
Han Qian gestured for Tian Cheng to confiscate the blades from Zhang Ping, Chai Jian, and Li Chong, then temporarily withdraw from the hall and close the doors.
“What exactly do you want to do? How will you clean up this chaos? Aren’t you afraid of how the Marquis and Madam will deal with your arrogant actions when they find out?” Chai Jian stared malevolently at Li Zhigao and Han Qian, wishing he could slice them to pieces.
“I have no time to worry about what the Marquis and Madam will think. But if you still don’t know restraint, still don’t show His Highness a bit of respect, why should I worry about what you think or fear how you’ll deal with me?” Han Qian said coldly.
“You slaves, let me in!” At that moment, Yao Xishui’s furious voice came from the doorway.
“Tian Cheng, let Miss Yao in to speak,” Han Qian said.
The door opened a crack and Yao Xishui’s figure flashed inside, immediately lunging toward Han Qian.
Seeing Yao Xishui wielding a cold blade, Han Qian drew his sword and slashed furiously at her.
Yao Xishui looked in disbelief at the sleeve sword in her hand, now broken in two. If she hadn’t checked her momentum in time, Han Qian’s blade would have cleaved her entire body in half.
When had this scoundrel’s blade technique become so fierce!
Yao Xishui’s last semi-formal engagement with Han Qian had been a year ago in the Evening Red Tower, when Yao Xishui had momentarily failed to notice and been seized from behind by Han Qian in a hold she couldn’t escape.
That time, Han Qian had succeeded through trickery, taking advantage of Yao Xishui’s inattention—it absolutely didn’t mean Yao Xishui was no match for him in direct confrontation.
Yao Xishui never imagined that a year later, when she directly attacked Han Qian, she would be defeated in a single strike.
“Miss Yao, if you don’t want blood splattered on the spot, drop your broken blade and stand aside quietly to listen to us talk,” Han Qian said coldly, staring at Yao Xishui whose eyes blazed with fury. Like Xi Ren, Yao Xishui might be an excellent assassin, but when facing someone directly in combat, her strength was always somewhat lacking.
Yao Xishui had heard the commotion from her room. By the time she dressed and came out, she saw that the interior of Jinxing Ward had been brought under control. She had assumed Han Qian was taking advantage of the situation to incite chaos and had infiltrated the residence, but Tian Cheng had blocked her.
When Han Qian ordered her admitted, she intended to directly stab him to death to quell the disturbance. But she never expected she would be no match for Han Qian in direct confrontation, and even more unexpected was that Li Zhigao also placed his hand on the sword at his waist, ready to strike mercilessly at her slightest move.
When she heard outside that Li Zhigao had brought troops back with Han Qian, Yao Xishui thought she’d misheard or that others were spreading false rumors. She never imagined this affair was completely a conspiracy between Li Zhigao and Han Qian from start to finish.
How was this possible?
How could Li Zhigao conspire with Han Qian to cause chaos?
At this moment, Yao Xishui’s emotions were stirred into scattered fragments, unable to imagine the cruel reality before her eyes.
“Li Zhigao, though you aren’t the Marquis’s blood son, how has the Marquis treated you all these years? How can you bear to do this?” Zhang Ping stared at Li Zhigao, knowing that outside were mainly Li Zhigao’s men. Still unwilling to accept Li Zhigao’s betrayal, he hoped to persuade him to pull back in time.
“It’s precisely because I always remember Father’s kindness that I cannot bear to watch you err again and again,” Li Zhigao said resolutely. “Even if Father doesn’t understand my earnest intentions for the moment, what I should do, I must still do.”
On one hand, Li Zhigao realized that continuing to let Chai Jian and the others carry on this way would lead nowhere. On the other hand, Li Zhigao also clearly understood that when Han Qian ran to Jingzikou to find him, it was essentially a showdown.
At that time, he either had to agree to Han Qian’s plan or could only kill Han Qian to silence him. But killing Han Qian to silence him would trigger what kind of great chaos, he absolutely couldn’t predict.
The fact was that Father and Madam had completely failed to anticipate what kind of person Han Qian was, resulting in one foolish, losing move after another. Li Zhigao could only make his own decisions now.
Seeing Yao Xishui obediently retreat to the side, Han Qian returned to his seat and said to the Third Prince Yang Yuanpu, “We will publicly announce that the Guard Battalion has been infiltrated by Liang Kingdom spies, with many bought off—no one is absolutely safe and reliable. The Guard Battalion will all be taken away by the Vice Commander and incorporated into the First Division for combat. As for the guards around Your Highness, I have sent someone to see Master Shen Yang. We’ll ask Master Shen Yang to select young warriors of clean background for Your Highness’s use—these youths have unsettled temperaments and know nothing of conspiracies. If Your Highness treats them well, they will serve Your Highness with their lives. As for Commander Chai, Master Zhang Ping, and Staff Officer Li, their words and deeds were inappropriate, but they have committed no great crime. Please punish them lightly, Your Highness, and give them an opportunity to atone through merit!”
These were the conditions Han Qian and Li Zhigao had negotiated.
With Li Zhigao participating in this affair, even if he wouldn’t be directly killed by the woman in black gauze and the Marquis of Xinchang Li Pu when he returned to Jinling, he would find it difficult to escape confinement. So no matter what, Han Qian had to do everything possible to help him secure the opportunity to remain garrisoned in Junzhou or the three western counties of Deng.
Of course, that was a matter for after the war. But the first step was still to strengthen the First Division of the Dragon Sparrow Army, which Li Zhigao personally commanded, stripping Chai Jian and Li Chong of their command over the Guard Battalion and incorporating the entire Guard Battalion into the First Division.
The second step was Yang Yuanpu’s personal safety—it could no longer fall under the control of Zhang Ping, Chai Jian, and the others. In that case, Li Pu and the woman in black gauze would very likely counterattack without hesitation, sending people to assassinate him and Li Zhigao. But Han Qian also wouldn’t expect Li Zhigao to trust him without reservation, so he proposed having Shen Yang select young warriors to form a new Guard Battalion, and if possible, persuade Shen Yang to remain at Yang Yuanpu’s side in charge.
However, most of the mid and low-ranking officers of the Dragon Sparrow Army were household troops cultivated by the Marquis of Xinchang’s mansion. To avoid Li Pu and the woman in black gauze becoming desperate, they had to consider Li Zhigao’s feelings. Han Qian couldn’t directly eliminate Chai Jian, Zhang Ping, Li Chong, Yao Xishui, and the others. He had to hold his nose and suggest the Third Prince allow them to “atone through merit.”
Of course, this also required Chai Jian, Zhang Ping, Li Chong, and Yao Xishui to “willingly” accept such arrangements.
However, after saying these words, Han Qian also stared coldly at Chai Jian and the others, his hand resting on the sword at his waist, his eyes containing faint killing intent, as if completely indifferent to their defiance.
If not for the fact that the vast majority of the Left Bureau scouts’ family members were still in Jinling, preventing Tian Cheng, Gao Shao, and the others from fleeing with him to Xuzhou, Han Qian wouldn’t care how the Marquis of Xinchang Li Pu and the woman in black gauze made trouble. But at this time, many things he wanted to do and many deployments he wanted to make had not been further implemented—he had to make these people understand their place.
So the best outcome was for Chai Jian, Li Chong, and Zhang Ping to submit and accept their new arrangements. Otherwise, they could only imprison these three first and take things step by step. Even without considering that Li Pu and the woman in black gauze might become desperate, Li Zhigao was unwilling to directly kill Chai Jian and the others with whom he’d spent years as brothers.
“If Chai Jian, Li Chong, and Master Zhang Ping are willing to recognize their errors and reform, how could I blame them? Everything will follow Master Han and Elder Brother’s suggestions!” Yang Yuanpu had lived deep within the palace prohibition in his early years and had long learned forbearance. He also understood that today, forget killing people or spattering blood on the spot—even imprisoning Chai Jian, Li Chong, and Zhang Ping would be difficult to explain to all parties.
“If we don’t admit our errors, how will you resolve this? Kill us?” Chai Jian’s chest heaved with pent-up fury as he stared at Han Qian, his expression sinister as he asked.
Since they were participating in such a conspiracy, they had long prepared themselves psychologically for the day they might meet defeat and death—naturally they wouldn’t be easily frightened by Han Qian.
“If you refuse to admit your errors unto death, we’ll either seek help from Defense Commissioner Du Chongtao, requesting Master Du to eliminate treacherous ministers, or we’ll escort His Highness to Jingzikou and blockade all water and land routes from Jingzikou to Xiangzhou, slowly reorganizing the First Division at Jingzikou first. However, I imagine neither outcome is what you hope to see?” Han Qian stared at Chai Jian with an air of casual confidence.
He had naturally considered all possible consequences and countermeasures before he could persuade Li Zhigao to make a decisive decision—he wasn’t afraid of Chai Jian’s obstinacy now.
Of course, no one wanted to see these two worst outcomes.
“We have indeed been inconsiderate toward His Highness. If Your Highness punishes us, it’s what we deserve,” Zhang Ping was more practical than Chai Jian. Before Chai Jian and Li Chong could further intensify the conflict, he took responsibility for the matter first. But he still stared at Han Qian and asked, “But I wonder how Master Han intends to arrange for us to atone through merit?”
“How would I have the qualification to arrange for Master Zhang Ping and the rest of you to atone through merit? If His Highness is willing to hear my opinion, I will suggest to His Highness to keep everything as unchanged as possible, to avoid creating too much unnecessary trouble for others.” Han Qian didn’t yet have the qualification to purge the Marquis of Xinchang’s mansion and Evening Red Tower faction. Ensuring that the Third Prince Yang Yuanpu’s person was not under their control was the fundamental purpose of his alliance with Li Zhigao this time, and their greatest victory from this risk. Everything else could only maintain the status quo for now. He continued, “The people from the Dengxiang Office of the Ministry of Personnel are probably watching Jinxing Ward at this very moment. No matter how much we glare at each other, we can’t let these people feel smug…”