The rear courtyard of the carriage depot.

At the far end of the courtyard stood several swings that Li Chi had built for Gao Xining and the others — if he had built one for Gao Xining alone, that would naturally have looked rather improper.

At this particular moment, two grown men, Li Chi and Xiahou Zuo, were seated on swings and lazily rocking back and forth.

When girls sit on swings, the sight is purely enchanting — a gentle sway, long hair drifting, skirt hems fluttering in the breeze.

These two, on the other hand, were pumping their swings so hard they were practically going full circles.

“Up north, the Black Wu haven’t made any moves, have they?”

Li Chi asked, then swung downward.

Xiahou Zuo swung upward, rising higher than the top of the wall.

“Nothing to worry about. I’d wager Kuokedi already won’t have the mood to deal with the southern frontier for two or three years — the Khan’s throne isn’t quite secure yet, after all.”

Li Chi said, “What kind of terrible names do the Black Wu people even have.”

Xiahou Zuo said, “Already-己律— there’s a kind of depth to it if you listen to the sound: as in, one who has already established his own discipline and order. Though of course that’s just interpreting the phonetics — who knows what it actually means in their tongue.”

Li Chi said, “That’s not what the phonetics sound like either.”

Xiahou Zuo said, “Then what do they sound like?”

Li Chi said, “Chicken-chicken-green.”

The moment those words left his mouth, Xiahou Zuo’s swinging nearly froze in midair.

Xiahou Zuo said, “If the Black Wu Khan ever heard you say that, even if he were to abdicate the throne, he’d still bring his entire army to finish you off.”

Li Chi said, “Nonsense. I’m just saying his chicken’s green — he hasn’t got time to deal with me right now anyway.”

He jumped down from the swing.

Xiahou Zuo asked, “Why did you stop?”

Li Chi said, “Dizzy.”

He asked Xiahou Zuo, “Aren’t you dizzy?”

Xiahou Zuo jumped down too, gripping the swing frame for support. “I’m dizzy too, but I didn’t want to admit defeat.”

Li Chi suddenly asked him something: “Are you having any difficulties in the northern frontier?”

Xiahou Zuo shook his head. “What difficulties could there be now — it’s far better than when I first arrived.”

Li Chi looked at him. “But I’ve heard that Pacification General Zheng Desheng of the northern frontier has been treating you poorly. More than poorly — he’s been treating you terribly.”

Xiahou Zuo froze. He hadn’t imagined that Li Chi would have heard about something like this.

Then he thought about it again. How could Li Chi have merely “heard” about it? This place was a thousand li from the frontier — military matters had no way of traveling all the way to Jizhou.

It could only mean that Li Chi had sent someone out there to make enquiries. At that thought, Xiahou Zuo felt a warmth spread through him.

“Let him prance around all he likes. It’s nothing serious.”

Xiahou Zuo smiled faintly. “He’s just a dog whose bark is louder than his bite.”

Li Chi nodded. “That doesn’t sound like you. Back at the academy, you never once swallowed your anger.”

“Because back then I was on my own. What did I have to worry about?”

Xiahou Zuo unhooked the pipe from his belt, packed it with tobacco, lit it with practiced ease, and drew a long pull.

At this moment, though he was still only in his mid-twenties, almost nothing remained of the arrogant swagger he had carried in his academy days.

The Xiahou Zuo of that time had been a fierce tiger — not just within the academy, but throughout the whole of Jizhou City.

“You know — the Pacification General of the northern frontier is the most powerful man under the Youzhou General.”

Xiahou Zuo said, “The Emperor’s decree at the time was that Youzhou General Luo Geng would have overall command of northern frontier military affairs. But Luo Geng couldn’t stay in the northern frontier indefinitely, so he appointed one of his subordinates as Pacification General — the Zheng Desheng you mentioned.”

Li Chi looked at him. “Tell me the truth. Has he mistreated you?”

Xiahou Zuo said, “Never mind his mistreating me — his troops are the nearest reinforcements we could hope for.”

Looking at Xiahou Zuo in this moment, Li Chi finally confirmed it: this was no longer the Xiahou Zuo from the academy.

Because so many frontier soldiers under his command had their lives resting on his shoulders.

Pacification General Zheng Desheng commanded tens of thousands of border troops. The man had once been one of Luo Geng’s trusted lieutenants.

His forces were garrisoned at a place called Luofeng Mountain, roughly three hundred li from the North Mountain Pass where Xiahou Zuo was stationed.

Geographically, that was a third closer than sending troops from Youzhou itself. Xiahou Zuo had been right — those were the nearest reinforcements.

So even when Pacification General Zheng Desheng strutted before him and barked orders at him, he endured it.

In the event of a major battle, that man represented the greatest hope for the North Mountain Pass border troops.

“He’s bullying you deliberately.”

Li Chi looked at Xiahou Zuo and kept his tone as level as he could. “I looked into this man’s background.”

“He was originally part of the Jizhou army. Prince Yu arranged for him to go to Youzhou, with the original intention of using him to keep watch on Luo Geng.”

“But this man is clever — afraid that Luo Geng would simply have him killed, he immediately confessed everything to Luo Geng the moment he arrived in Youzhou.”

Li Chi said, “To save his own life, he even personally led men to root out all the other covert agents Prince Yu had planted in Youzhou, and had them executed before Luo Geng.”

That had all unfolded after Prince Yu’s military defeat.

Prince Yu, fearing that Luo Geng would use the defeat as an opportunity to seize Jizhou, had quietly arranged for numerous people to lie low in Youzhou and keep close watch on Luo Geng’s every movement.

Li Chi looked at Xiahou Zuo. “He bullies you simply because you’re Prince Yu’s son. He reckons that when Prince Yu originally sent him to Youzhou, it was the same as sending him to his death.”

Xiahou Zuo shrugged. “I don’t much care.”

Li Chi continued, “The grain I sent to you — a good deal of it was taken by him, wasn’t it?”

Xiahou Zuo said, “Not taken exactly. I gave it to him. It’s just that his men went too far — Zheng Desheng’s forces were at Luofeng Mountain with critical grain shortages.”

“I divided some grain with him, but the men he sent were greedy and helped themselves to extra. My men caught them, and a fight broke out.”

Xiahou Zuo said, “It was nothing serious.”

Li Chi said, “You… you understand perfectly well. Why did Luo Geng deliberately assign Zheng Desheng to the northern frontier as Pacification General? Wasn’t it precisely because Luo Geng wanted Zheng Desheng to go and get you killed?”

Xiahou Zuo smiled. “I don’t much care.”

Li Chi sighed. “Look at you. Since when did you become like this?”

Xiahou Zuo said, “From the moment I went to the northern frontier, I had no choice but to become like this.”

Li Chi looked into Xiahou Zuo’s eyes. “If I hadn’t determined that he had no real desire to kill you, he would already be dead.”

Xiahou Zuo’s expression shifted. He looked at Li Chi, his eyes carrying a flicker of confusion.

Li Chi said, “Luo Geng knew that Zheng Desheng had been sent by Prince Yu to make him miserable. After Prince Yu passed away, Luo Geng wanted even less to see you commanding troops. Knowing that Zheng Desheng harbored a grudge against you, he arranged for him to go to the northern frontier.”

“He assumed Zheng Desheng would kill you. But Zheng Desheng didn’t — he just bullies you from time to time. That’s how it is, isn’t it?”

Xiahou Zuo sighed. “This man isn’t really all that bad, when you think about it… You say he bullies me, but when my father sent him to Youzhou, he was probably walking into near-certain death. If it were me, I’d carry resentment too.”

“You say he takes my grain — but if he had no intention of holding the northern frontier, he could have led his tens of thousands of troops south at any time. Even if he didn’t dare return to Youzhou, he could have carved out a territory somewhere else and lived comfortably.”

Xiahou Zuo said, “So…”

He shrugged. “Just leave it.”

Li Chi said, “Just leave it?”

Xiahou Zuo said, “One moment Zheng Desheng’s forces are at Luofeng Mountain, and the next they could be our comrades in arms.”

Li Chi said, “Just leaving it won’t do.”

Xiahou Zuo started. “You… what did you do?”

Li Chi said, “Settled the score.”

He looked at Xiahou Zuo. “The same way you’d have handled it back at the academy, when someone tried to bully me.”

—

At the same moment, in Youzhou.

Pacification General Zheng Desheng was making his way into Youzhou City with a measure of unease. He raised his eyes to look at the great banner bearing the character for Luo atop the city walls, and felt his nerves tighten further.

He had no idea why Young General Luo Jing had urgently summoned him back, but his instincts told him it was unlikely to be good news.

What he didn’t know was that the very first thing Li Chi had done upon arriving in Youzhou was seek out Luo Jing to ask about this man Zheng Desheng.

Luo Jing had never heard these rumors before. When Li Chi finished explaining, he too was furious.

So he immediately dispatched men to gallop for Luofeng Mountain and summon Zheng Desheng back to Youzhou.

By the time Zheng Desheng returned, Li Chi had long since gone back to Jizhou, and Luo Jing had by now led his army south toward Anyang.

Arriving at the outer gates of the general’s residence, Zheng Desheng glanced at the soldiers standing guard at the entrance. Their uniforms were not those of the Youzhou army, and his heart gave a sudden lurch.

When he entered the general’s residence, the guards on duty in the courtyard were not Youzhou soldiers either.

He walked to the front of the main hall, just about to announce himself, when he saw a young man dressed in fine brocade step out of the hall with an easy stride.

“Who are you?”

Zheng Desheng demanded at once.

Dantai Qi glanced at Zheng Desheng and didn’t answer. Instead he smiled faintly and asked, “Can you fight?”

Zheng Desheng froze.

A short while later, Dantai Qi looked down at Zheng Desheng slumped on the ground and shook his head. “You cannot fight.”

Zheng Desheng could no longer get up, but his eyes still held a ferocious glare.

He spat a mouthful of blood, lying prone but craning his neck up to shout at Dantai Qi: “Who the hell are you!”

Dantai Qi beckoned, and a bodyguard promptly carried over a chair.

He sat down, looked at Zheng Desheng, and said, “Let me lay things out clearly for you. I’ve come from Jizhou. The man who sent me to take charge of Youzhou is named Li Chi.”

Zheng Desheng frowned. The name rang a faint bell, but in the moment he couldn’t quite place it.

Dantai Qi continued, “Li Chi is Luo Jing’s close friend. So Luo Jing led his army south and entrusted Youzhou to Li Chi.”

“And Li Chi is Xiahou Zuo’s sworn brother… do you understand now?”

Zheng Desheng’s complexion had gone somewhat ashen.

He spat again, and gave a short, grim laugh. “Didn’t expect this — so in the end I’ll still die at the hands of the Yang Family’s dogs.”

Dantai Qi said, “You’re mistaken there. I’m no dog of the Yang Family, and neither is Li Chi. My name is Dantai Qi. My father is Liangzhou General Dantai Qi.”

Zheng Desheng’s expression shifted again, his eyes filling with bewilderment.

Dantai Qi was just about to speak when, nearby, the bodyguards who had been restrained — Zheng Desheng’s own men — began shouting and struggling, demanding he release their general.

Dantai Qi waved a hand. “Beat them until they can’t make noise, but don’t kill them. Dislocate their jaws, and put them back once I’m done talking.”

His bodyguards moved immediately.

Dantai Qi leaned forward and looked into Zheng Desheng’s eyes, speaking one word at a time: “I will say this only once. I hope you will remember it.”

“I have come to take command of Youzhou on the orders of Jizhou’s master, Li Chi — and only because Li Chi’s elder brother Xiahou Zuo is in the northern frontier.”

“Li Chi asked me to relay a few things to you. Remember them well. First: from here on, the provisions for Luofeng Mountain’s border troops will be supplied by us.”

“Second: if Luofeng Mountain comes under attack from the Black Wu, we will come to your aid. Anything you lack — grain, funds — it will be provided.”

“Third: if you lay a hand on so much as one grain of Xiahou Zuo’s provisions again, if you provoke him once more, if you dare bully him even once more…”

Dantai Qi rose, and crouched down in front of Zheng Desheng. “I will chop you into pieces.”

He stood, clasped his hands behind his back, and looked down at Zheng Desheng.

“The last thing you must remember: Jizhou belongs to Li Chi. Were it not for his respect for the border troops — and his acknowledgment that you have the will to defend the frontier — you would have died the moment you took Xiahou Zuo’s grain.”

Dantai Qi glanced at Zheng Desheng’s saber where it lay on the ground, and bent down to pick it up.

He applied a slight force with both hands. With a sharp crack, both the blade and the scabbard snapped in two.

“General Zheng.”

Dantai Qi tossed the broken saber to the ground.

“You should count yourself fortunate that you never truly intended to kill Xiahou Zuo. But know this: the luck of bullying Xiahou Zuo and surviving — you only get that once.”

He turned and walked back toward the main hall.

“The Ning Army does not issue threats. We issue formal warnings. Whoever refuses to heed them…” He paused. “We eliminate them.”

—