Li Yao, leaning on his cane, said: “Don’t throw yourself into disarray. It’s just that Pei the traitor used cunning schemes—a petty person gaining temporary advantage.”

After speaking, he instructed guards to take Li Xun down to rest for a moment first.

Li Xun was supported by guards. Still concerned about Fan Yuan’s injury, he said: “The poison in Commander Fan’s body—even the military physicians are helpless. We need to hurry back to Xinzhou territory to summon a renowned physician…”

The old man who had examined Fan Yuan’s pupils and tongue coating stood up and said: “Take two qian each of yellow flower earth nail and half-sided lotus, half a qian of raw licorice, one qian each of red peony and alisma. Decoct and administer for two or three days—the poison can be cleared.”

Only then did Li Xun notice the old man. Seeing that although his beard and hair were all white, his form wasn’t stooped, and his eyes especially had an inwardly restrained divine light with a kind of transcendent, carefree feeling beyond the mortal world. He looked clearly benevolent, yet had an imposing dignity that made people dare not look directly at him.

Li Xun thought of that old friend Li Yao had gone to Wangliang Mountain to invite. He immediately became excited, nearly incoherent: “You… You are Old General Weichi?”

Weichi Ba smiled: “When this old man retired from military service, you should not yet have entered official service. You actually recognize this old man?”

Hearing the old man’s words, Li Xun was even more wildly delighted. The string that had been taut in his mind all along suddenly loosened as he said: “Although you requested to retire into seclusion before Founder Mingcheng proclaimed himself emperor, who doesn’t know that half of Great Liang’s realm was conquered single-handedly by you?”

Hearing these words, the smile on Weichi Ba’s face receded somewhat, though not very obviously.

Li Yao then said to Li Xun: “Take Shouyi down to rest for a moment. First prepare medicine according to this prescription. After decocting and administering one dose to Shouyi, continue rushing back to Xinzhou. Leave two thousand troops with me.”

Shouyi was Fan Yuan’s courtesy name.

Li Xun had just found Weichi Ba’s reaction after hearing his praise somewhat strange. Hearing Li Yao’s words, he immediately couldn’t care about pondering that oddity and said urgently: “Absolutely not, Lord Ling! This time Pei Song personally leads troops pursuing us. Adding that dog traitor Dou Jianliang’s Chen army forces, it’s no less than fifty thousand troops. His intent is to slaughter our frontline Liang army, then continue southward to directly take the three provinces and one commandery sheltered behind Mount Tai’a!”

He spoke that tragic fact: “Two thousand troops defending Wayao Fortress also can’t block Pei Song’s main army for long. Lord Ling and Old General Weichi absolutely cannot have any mishaps. In the future, to mount another northern campaign for the Princess, we’ll still need to rely on you two. You should follow Commander Fan and retreat to Xinzhou first. This subordinate official will delay more time here!”

Speaking of mounting another northern campaign, his voice already revealed some choking emotion.

The reason Wen Yu had initially insisted on seizing Xin and Yi provinces and Tao Commandery as a barrier north of Pingzhou was because the Mount Tai’a range sheltered these three prefectures behind it, capable of blocking the offensive of northern troops moving south.

Li Yao said: “From Wayao Fortress to Xinzhou is still two days’ journey. To avoid being caught up by Pei Song, Wayao Fortress must hold for at least half a day.”

Li Xun was just about to guarantee something to him when he heard him continue: “The most important thing in this battle is that we must severely blunt Pei Song’s momentum.”

Li Xun stared at him blankly.

Li Yao looked toward the northern sky. Under his wrinkled eyelids, in pupils that were grayish-blue with cloudiness from old age, there was an expression people couldn’t read clearly: “You also said Pei Song personally leads fifty thousand troops southward to scatter the frontline Liang army before taking the three provinces and one commandery behind Mount Tai’a. That he dares to set aside the Northern Border battlefield and act thus shows that on the Northern Border battlefield, some unexpected development we don’t yet know about must also have occurred.”

“Shouyi is severely wounded, Dou Jianliang has defected, and they’ve been chased by Pei Song all along like a cat toying with a mouse. What morale or military spirit do the soldiers below still have? Even if by chance they escape back to Xinzhou, it will only bring panic back to the rear Liang camp.”

Li Xun was speechless. Actually, there was one most serious problem they both knew in their hearts—it’s just that in this tragic situation, no one wanted to speak of it again.

—Wen Yu had used a marriage alliance to secure the Liang-Chen alliance, yet the Chen army defected to Pei Song on the frontlines and stabbed the Liang army. Once news spread back to the rear Liang camp, those three provinces and one commandery would certainly also be severely shaken.

Even dissatisfaction toward Southern Chen might evolve into dissatisfaction toward Wen Yu.

And once any faction had internal rifts and estrangement, upon receiving external attack, it would only crumble into scattered sand.

This was also why Pei Song had confidence in leading troops southward.

There was also another hidden danger—if Wei Qishan truly also lost momentum on the Northern Border battlefield, then with Pei army momentum even greater, Liang army morale and spirit would only scatter further. How could they speak of resisting Pei Song again?

Seeing Li Xun fall silent in grief, Li Yao knew he already understood the various advantages and disadvantages in this. He said: “Besides us two old things, no one else under this heaven can block Pei Song here and make him take another hard fall. After you return to the rear Liang camp, your burden won’t be lighter than us two. How to reorganize morale and spirit, arrange another northern campaign—none of it is easy.”

Li Xun listened with old tears streaming down.

Li Yao continued: “The Liang camp cannot scatter. Even if attacking Pei Song and recapturing Luodu is already hopeless, for the Princess’s safety, this organization must be maintained. If there comes such a day when Great Liang returns to our lord, below the yellow earth, don’t forget to pour a meager cup of wine in sacrifice—that will suffice.”

That white-haired, aged old man’s final entrusted words were: “Zhongqing, I entrust the Princess to you.”

Li Xun clasped his hands together, bowing all the way down, calling out in heart-wrenching grief: “Lord Ling…”

–

Cloud layers obscured the sun. Wind made the banners atop the city tower walls flutter loudly.

Li Yao and Weichi Ba stood before the parapet. The army of Li Xun leading Fan Yuan and the Great Liang remnant forces back had already traveled far. Li Yao said: “Old thing, it seems I invited you to come out of retirement at the wrong time.”

Weichi Ba stroked his beard and smiled: “In my view, it’s precisely the right time.”

The two old friends looked at each other and both smiled.

After a while, Li Yao still said with deep emotion: “It’s a pity I can’t have you meet our lord again.”

Weichi Ba said: “Though I don’t know her voice or appearance, I’ve already counted it as having met her.”

Li Yao looked toward his old friend in surprise.

Weichi Ba said: “To be able to maneuver in a losing situation to gain the three provinces and one commandery in the Southern Border, and also gain support from so many worthy ministers—how is this not the quality of an emperor or prime minister?”

Hearing his old friend’s words, Li Yao smiled while leaning on his cane. Looking again toward the southern mountain ranges, the wrinkles on his face smoothed out considerably, though his eyes held some regret and faint sorrow as an elder.

“You say Great Liang’s fate is not yet exhausted—I believe it,” Weichi Ba continued.

“That at this time I let you learn of my whereabouts is probably heaven’s will.”

“Heaven’s will is for me to protect this Great Liang’s final momentum for one more stretch.”

Li Yao’s heart was filled with mixed emotions. In the end, he only said: “Thank you.”

Weichi Ba smiled and said: “Thank what? This is also the Great Liang I personally conquered.”

Now the world only knew Emperor Mingcheng unified the realm and established Great Liang, ending the previous dynasty’s internal turmoil that lasted over thirty years. Few knew that Emperor Mingcheng’s half the realm was all conquered for him by his sworn brother.

It’s just that when birds are gone, good bows are stored away. When the realm was at great peace, the sworn brother Emperor Mingcheng had promised to share wealth and honor with as an equal prince instead became his mortal threat.

Weichi Ba also had no intention of contending with Emperor Mingcheng. With the mortal world settled, before Emperor Mingcheng established Liang and proclaimed himself emperor, he brushed his robes and left, again becoming a carefree wanderer with unpredictable whereabouts.

Li Yao had witnessed with his own eyes how the previous dynasty walked step by step toward its end. He had too many aspirations for this realm. Even though he knew Emperor Mingcheng had begun centralizing power from that time, he still didn’t want to give up.

All the way until Emperor Mingcheng passed away, a new emperor succeeded, empress’s relatives interfered in government, the entire court of officials formed factions for private interests, corruption grew worse day by day—watching this new dynasty walk toward the path of decline again, his heart finally grew cold and despairing. He resigned and retired into seclusion.

If not for Prince Changlian later personally going to his place of seclusion several times to deeply discuss with him the situation under heaven and political views on the many accumulated problems in the court, he wouldn’t have been moved to come out of retirement again for that passionate ambition.

That young woman in the Pingzhou courtyard who neither humbly nor arrogantly asked him to strategize for her was his final choice.

–

Pei Song didn’t pursue the Great Liang remnant army very urgently. He deliberately used this cat-toying-with-mouse style of fighting to bit by bit consume the Liang army’s morale, layering panic in the Liang army’s hearts.

Even letting the Liang army, after countless times severing their tail to survive, bring their remaining troops fleeing in sorry state back to Xinzhou behind the Mount Tai’a range wouldn’t be a problem.

If he thoroughly destroyed the frontline Liang army, he might bring sufficient intimidation to the rear Liang army.

But he more wanted to use fear as a siege weapon to disintegrate the rear Liang camp’s power from within.

Therefore, when Pei Song led troops arriving at Wayao Fortress territory, it was already early morning of the second day. Scouts came to report, saying they’d detected in the rear an army of unknown origins. They didn’t fly military banners, nor did they wear unified armor. Most of the time they concealed themselves marching through dense forests, so there was no way to clearly scout exactly how many men there were, but it was estimated they hadn’t exceeded ten thousand.

After Pei Song finished listening, he pondered briefly, then summoned personal guards at his side and ordered: “A ragtag army—have Dou Jianliang go clean them up.”

Personal guards immediately rode to the rear formation to find Dou Jianliang, telling him to go restrain that ragtag army of unknown origins.

After Pei Song’s personal guard left, Dou Jianliang spat fiercely on the ground, cursing: “What does he take this old man for? Because he’s used to being someone’s dog, he thinks everyone is like him!”

His confidants had endured quite a bit of Dou Jianliang’s anger these days. Knowing that if they didn’t console him and give him a way out when he was angry, they’d inevitably be targets of his displaced anger, they immediately flattered: “General, calm your anger, calm your anger. In this subordinate’s view, going to clear up that ragtag army that appeared from who knows where is actually a good thing.”

Dou Jianliang looked at him sideways. The confidant continued fawning: “A bunch of rabble—scare them off and be done. If we were made to attack Wayao Fortress with Pei Song watching from behind, wouldn’t we have to expend deadly effort fighting? Losing troops to exchange for some merit with Pei Song isn’t necessarily beneficial. For now, preserving our strength is the best strategy.”

Only then did Dou Jianliang feel somewhat more comfortable in his heart. He pulled the reins: “Pass the order to turn back—follow me to clear up the ragtag army!”

–

Xiao Li, leading two thousand Tongzhou volunteer troops, had been cautiously following behind the Pei army. But on a long march, no matter how concealed, it was inevitable they’d be discovered showing traces.

Pei Song was also a veteran in using troops. Scouts would not only scout forward but also occasionally turn back to see if there were enemy army tracks behind.

When Pei army scouts first discovered their tracks, Xiao Li killed that scout.

But if the scout couldn’t report back on time, it was already tantamount to exposure.

The troops Xiao Li brought had already prepared to engage the enemy when the second round of scouts came to investigate.

When Dou Jianliang led the Chen army into their ambush territory, Zheng Hu lay on forest ground covered with pine needles, seeing clearly through gaps in low shrubs.

He turned his head toward Xiao Li not far away, making a hand gesture to inquire.

When Xiao Li saw the character “Chen” on this army’s banners, his gaze already turned cold by several degrees. He returned a hand gesture to Zheng Hu.

Receiving the answer, Zheng Hu immediately made another hand gesture to the volunteer army brothers lying in ambush.

When the Chen army approached, they only heard a “clang” sound in the forest. Immediately, dense rows of bamboo spears lashed out from both sides of the forest, along with huge round logs swung out by ropes.

For a moment, the Chen army formation was thrown into chaos with people and horses tumbling. Alarmed cries filled the air.

Dou Jianliang was holding the center. Seeing the troops at the front in such a miserable state, he was also shocked in alarm. Realizing this ragtag army might be exceptionally difficult, he hurriedly directed the Chen army at the rear: “Into the forest! Flank them from the forests on both sides!”

The Chen army at the rear rushed into the forest in panic, but volunteer troops lying in ambush at the forest entrance—bodies covered with pine needles, heads topped with shrub branches—directly slashed horizontally with sabers at their lower bodies. In an instant, they brought down another batch of Chen army.

After these two ambushes, although the total casualties of the Chen army weren’t many, they successfully created panic and disrupted the Chen army’s morale.

When Xiao Li then led the volunteer troops charging out, the Chen army, already having no heart for a fight to the death, resisted even more weakly and fled in all directions.

But Xiao Li didn’t dare be careless. Their military strength was limited. The Chen army, not knowing their exact numbers and having been scared into disarray by the two ambushes, was why they could gain temporary advantage.

If they couldn’t rout this Chen army force in one vigorous effort and became entangled with them, once their true strength was discovered, the Chen army, relying on their advantage of having several times more troops, would quickly recover and counterattack.

Fortunately, today heaven favored them. An extremely thick fog arose among the mountain forests. Borrowing the dense fog’s concealment, they could temporarily confuse the Chen army’s vision.

While their side had heaven-shaking sounds of slaughter, they faintly heard that several miles ahead, sounds of slaughter were also coming.

Clearly, the Pei army and Wayao Fortress’s Liang army were also engaged in battle ahead.