Sometimes, when you stop to think about it, many things don’t quite add up the way you’d expect—certain developments seem almost unbelievable.
Take the spread of information. In an era like this, news ought to travel slowly.
Consider: if something happened in Anyang City and you made no effort to seek it out, how long would it take for word to reach Jizhou?
Yet the news of Li Chi becoming Prince Ning had spread to nearly half of Dachu’s various factions in just half a year. Even in places tens of thousands of li from Jizhou—north, south, east, or west—the name might come up over tea and conversation among certain powerful figures.
That said, very few of those powerful figures actually took this Prince Ning seriously.
In their eyes, the various regional princes were like cabbages piled on a village elder’s ox-cart—a whole cartload of them, and the lot together wasn’t worth much.
Would people like them concern themselves with cabbages?
And so it came down to a matter of perspective. When something extraordinary rises to power, even cabbages become important. But while the cabbage has yet to show its importance, it will still be looked down upon.
From summer into autumn, Li Chi remained in Jizhou, steadily building his strength, showing not the slightest inclination to push southward.
From summer into autumn, the Li Chi from Jieshi Prefecture—Li Chi the imposter—never came either.
But in the deep of autumn, Li Chi got Tang Pidi back.
According to the plan, Tang Pidi wasn’t due to return until next summer. The sudden reappearance of his troops caught even Li Chi off guard.
He had left on the first day of the first lunar month and returned in mid-tenth month—by any count, he had been gone over nine months.
Subtract the time consumed by travel in both directions, and the time he’d actually spent causing havoc in Yanzhou amounted to five months at most.
Tang Pidi’s explanation to Li Chi was simply… there was nothing left to play with.
In five months, he had ravaged Yanzhou from end to end—and the unlucky ones had been ravaged twice.
Most remarkably, he had departed with a certain number of men and returned with exactly that same number.
Not a single soldier lost. Only an uncountable mountain of gold and silver.
At this point, the Ning Army’s reputation wasn’t yet particularly great. Had it been greater, this campaign record would have been written into the history books.
Because it was the kind of grotesquely impressive achievement that almost no one would believe if told.
“Five months, that’s all,” Li Chi said, looking at Tang Pidi. “And you still found time to shave regularly?”
Tang Pidi curled his lip.
“Yanzhou has nothing more to offer in the short term,” he said. “The gains this time, beyond all that gold and silver, include one thing of even greater value.”
Li Chi asked with curiosity, “What’s that?”
Tang Pidi said, “I made all of Yanzhou hate you.”
Li Chi said, “My deepest gratitude.”
Tang Pidi said, “Just doing my part—nothing more than my duty.”
He smiled. “Every place I plundered, I left your name behind. Doing you a favor like that, I doubt anyone else could manage it.”
Li Chi said, “Why did you have to pin it all on me? Why make me bear it alone?”
Tang Pidi said, “Well, not entirely alone—I also left Xiahou Zuo’s name.”
Li Chi keenly sensed a trap somewhere in that statement.
Tang Pidi would never casually cause trouble for Xiahou Zuo without reason. He would, however, do exactly that to Li Chi without any reason at all.
After Tang Pidi explained what had happened, Li Chi’s eyes narrowed.
“Why did you say it was Xiahou Zuo?”
“I don’t believe,” Li Chi said, “that you used Xiahou Zuo’s name simply because the story was more convincing that way.”
Tang Pidi said, “That girl’s something.”
Li Chi said, “And?”
Tang Pidi said, “She’s straightforward. She might go north to make trouble for Xiahou.”
Li Chi let out a slow sigh. “You and Gao Xining—where do you both pick up these infuriating habits?”
Tang Pidi said, “I don’t know where she learned hers, but I learned mine from her.”
Li Chi sighed. “I suppose I’d better send a letter to Xiahou. Give him fair warning.”
Tang Pidi said, “I already did. Had someone deliver it along with a portrait of the girl.”
Li Chi said, “How do you think Xiahou Zuo will thank you?”
Tang Pidi said, “Endless tearful gratitude, I’d imagine.”
Li Chi said, “Whatever tears there are, you’d have driven them out of him…”
Tang Pidi said, “The tender, delicate sort?”
Li Chi pictured Xiahou Zuo weeping tenderly and gave a visible shudder.
He looked at Tang Pidi. “Actually, when you said that girl had worn down her arrowheads from sharpening them, I already knew that even if she went looking for Xiahou Zuo, nothing much would come of it. What I’m more worried about is Luo Jing.”
Tang Pidi smiled. “Worrying won’t help.”
From Tang Pidi’s expression, Li Chi suddenly understood: whatever was coming with Luo Jing, Tang Pidi had factored it in long ago.
“If he doesn’t take a few hits in Anyang, he’ll never learn his lesson.”
Tang Pidi said, “This year won’t bring trouble. Luo Jing will continue to expand his forces—he’s in no hurry to attack. But come next year, he won’t be able to hold himself back.”
He looked at Li Chi. “When spring arrives next year, I’ll lead a force south.”
Li Chi gave a sound of acknowledgment. “When it comes to military command, Prince Wu’s grasp—even if it’s no longer what it was at his peak—is something our experience alone can’t match.”
Tang Pidi said, “Can’t match *your* experience. There’s no need to lump me in.”
Li Chi gave him a sideways look.
“How many troops does Jizhou have now?” Tang Pidi asked.
Li Chi said, “When you left, you said to give you a year and a half. It’s only been ten months. So what we agreed on before doesn’t apply yet.”
Tang Pidi said, “We agreed on a year and a half to expand the army to eighty thousand. We already had fifty thousand—so your target was just thirty thousand. Don’t tell me you’re trying to wriggle out of even that. How short are you?”
Li Chi answered, “Short by twenty-five thousand.”
Tang Pidi’s eyes went wide. “Thirty thousand target, and you’re short twenty-five thousand?”
Li Chi nodded. “Yes—accidentally recruited fifty-five thousand, so I’m over by twenty-five thousand. A bit excessive, really…”
Tang Pidi exhaled. “That performance was stiff. No smoothness to it. Overblown.”
Li Chi said, “Ha.”
Tang Pidi said, “Fifty-five thousand. Total strength already at a hundred thousand…”
He turned to study the map carefully, then looked back at Li Chi. “To hold Jizhou securely, a hundred thousand is still far from enough.”
Li Chi nodded. “I know.”
Tang Pidi tapped the map. “Youzhou originally had over twenty thousand troops, but those were Luo Jing’s men. After Xiahou Zuo arrived with his regiment, that twenty-odd thousand pulled back to Anyang.”
“Youzhou is critical ground. We’ll need to station forces there permanently—no fewer than thirty thousand troops going forward. That means dispatching two more regiments.”
Tang Pidi said, “Send two regiments of new recruits to Xiahou. Let him train them himself.”
Li Chi said, “In military matters, you have the final say.”
Tang Pidi moved his hand to the northwest on the map. “This area also needs two regiments.”
“The northwestern counties—the Eastern Ling Path is stirring again. If left untended, it could become a serious problem.”
Li Chi said, “I’ve already sent two regiments there—one of veterans, one of new recruits. Liu Ge is leading them.”
Tang Pidi nodded with a smile. “That’s exactly what I would have said. Let Liu Ge hold down the northwest—clearing out the Eastern Ling Path remnants while keeping the ability to reinforce Liangzhou at a moment’s notice.”
He looked at Li Chi. “The troops at Jicheng—I didn’t have them come back. Elder Brother Zhuang is somewhat underused there, but we’re genuinely short on manpower, so let them stay garrisoned at Jicheng for now. They can reinforce Youzhou to the north, or keep watch over Yanzhou to the east.”
Adding it all up: two regiments to Youzhou, two to the northwest, one to Jicheng.
That left Jizhou’s remaining forces at just under fifty thousand.
Which, when you looked at it that way, still seemed insufficient.
But with forces deployed like this, Jizhou’s four cardinal directions were all secured.
Only by holding Jizhou firm could they find any opportunity to push southward.
Tang Pidi’s tone shifted abruptly. “I went to Yanzhou to secure funds for you. That’s fair, isn’t it.”
Li Chi said, “How is it securing funds for me when you spent all the money yourself?”
Tang Pidi said, “But we agreed—handling the money side is your job. This time I did it in your place, so you owe me one.”
Li Chi had a feeling this was about to go somewhere unpleasant.
Tang Pidi said, “Since I covered for you once, you need to do the same for me once. That false Emperor of Men in Jieshi Prefecture—I had people scout him out. He’s got something like a hundred-odd thousand troops, though they’re all rabble. Nothing to worry about.”
“This is a battle I should be the one to fight—but since you owe me one, you can go fight it yourself.”
Tang Pidi said, “I’ve been away from home for ten months. I need to stay and evaluate how the new recruits have been training… So I plan to give you one regiment, go wipe out that false Emperor of Men.”
Li Chi said, “You really are a fine human being. Give me twelve thousand men and send me to destroy an enemy with a hundred-odd thousand troops…”
Tang Pidi said, “Sometimes a man doesn’t know how ruthless he can be until someone forces his hand. Twelve thousand men—not one more.”
Li Chi: “You treacherous villain…”
Tang Pidi laughed heartily. “This one’s yours to handle. And you need to win decisively against superior numbers—make the people throughout Jizhou’s east and southeast understand who the true Emperor of Men really is.”
Li Chi said, “I’ll hand the Emperor of Men title right over to you.”
Tang Pidi said, “Just because you want to give it, doesn’t mean I want it.”
Li Chi: “…”
Tang Pidi said, “Mid-tenth month now. If you move fast enough, you can march to Jieshi Prefecture in a month—that puts you there by mid-eleventh month.”
“If you move even faster, you could resolve it in five days—but I wouldn’t be so merciless as to give you just five days to defeat the false Emperor of Men. I’ll give you fifteen days.”
“Fifteen days puts you at the start of the twelfth month. Another month back, and you’ll be home in time for the New Year.”
Tang Pidi looked at Li Chi. “More than generous. This is an easy battle—you’re the one getting the good deal here.”
Li Chi said, “Do you mind if I send regards to your elders?”
Tang Pidi said, “Mildly.”
Li Chi let out a sigh. “Two and a half months total, two of which are travel. Fifteen days of actual fighting with twelve thousand men against a hundred-odd thousand…”
Tang Pidi said, “If you find it difficult…”
Li Chi blinked his wide eyes at Tang Pidi.
Tang Pidi said, “Then work through it.”
Li Chi said, “Even if the King of Heaven himself showed up today, I’d still have words for your ancestors.”
But words, however pointed, accomplished nothing.
And so, two days later, Li Chi departed Jizhou with one regiment of troops.
Tang Pidi stood at the city gate and waved them off. Li Chi said that mournful face of his was the spitting image of a backside.
Tang Pidi said that disgruntled face of Li Chi’s looked like the backside of someone with great child-bearing potential.
Yu Jiuling asked, perplexed, “What about the commander’s face makes it look like a child-bearing backside?”
Tang Pidi answered, “It’s big.”
Twelve-thousand-some troops in all. Dantai Yajing acted as vanguard, leading three thousand soldiers at the front. Li Chi commanded the main body of six thousand. The rear three thousand were given to Yu Jiuling.
The army marched toward Jieshi Prefecture, southeast of Jizhou. The weather had already turned cold—not ideal conditions for warfare.
But Tang Pidi’s assessment was… the enemy thinks so too.
As they left Jizhou, Tang Pidi told Li Chi: when you appear before that false Emperor of Men without warning, he’ll be startled.
Li Chi said: when he finds out I only brought twelve thousand men, he’ll be so startled he’ll be jumping up and down laughing.
—