On the first day of the third month, the Ning Army dispatched five divisions totaling sixty thousand men to march southward, departing Jizhou for Anyang.

Vanguard General Luo Jing led the first division to open the road for the main force.

Supreme General Tang Pidi commanded the entire army. The military advisor was the one known as Wu Naiyu, just returned from Jié Stone Prefecture, with Lian Xiwu serving as campaign aide.

Li Chi did not accompany the army southward; instead, he remained in Jizhou City to coordinate logistics and ensure the supply of provisions and materiel for the army.

One and a half months later, the army arrived from Jizhou to Anyang.

After four days of assault, Anyang’s garrison surrendered. Luo Jing led his troops into the city and carried out mass executions. Anyang was absorbed into Jizhou’s territory.

In the army camp.

Dantai Yajing returned from Anyang City and, the moment he stepped through the door, called out: “Go and fetch Zhen Gen for me.”

His personal soldiers wasted no time, and hurried off to bring the division’s supply officer, Zhen Gen.

The moment Zhen Gen stepped through the door, he asked eagerly, “General, you summoned me so urgently — are we dividing the forces?”

Dantai Yajing smiled. “Indeed. We’ve just received the Supreme General’s order to split off and attack Qingzhou. In a little while, bring your people to your senior martial brother’s position and draw provisions and supplies.”

As they spoke, Changsun Wuyou walked in from outside, smiling as he came. “Today, knowing the general had gone into the city for a council of war, I guessed we would be dividing forces — so I’ve already had people prepare everything. The supply train can be drawn at any time.”

“Ha ha ha ha.”

Dantai Yajing laughed. “Advisor Changsun, you are truly remarkable.”

Changsun Wuyou said, “The King of Ning had already laid out the plan long in advance. I merely sensed the timing was about right and made a wild guess — who would have thought I’d guess correctly.”

Dantai Yajing said, “The southward strategy the King of Ning is employing was written by you, Advisor.”

Changsun Wuyou immediately replied, “In truth, the King of Ning already had his plans settled. I simply arrived at the same thinking independently.”

Dantai Yajing laughed. “Enough modesty. At any rate, the King of Ning has said that for the campaign against Qingzhou, you are to accompany me. We’ll be depending heavily on you for this one.”

Changsun Wuyou said, “We all serve the King of Ning. There’s no need for courtesy between us, General.”

He asked Dantai Yajing, “How many troops will the Supreme General assign us?”

Dantai Yajing said, “Fifty thousand.”

“Fifty thousand!”

Changsun Wuyou’s eyes went wide.

“How can that be? The army has only just arrived at Anyang — if fifty thousand of the sixty thousand are given to the general, how will the Supreme General maneuver and fight? The Chu forces on the southern bank number no fewer than a hundred thousand, and they are no rabble.”

Dantai Yajing said, “The Supreme General says he only intends to serve as a diversionary force — he has no need of many troops. That is why he’s giving us fifty thousand.”

He smiled. “The Supreme General’s use of troops has always been unfathomable. He says he’ll keep one division behind, and he’s also assigning Cheng Wujie to me.”

“Additionally, the Supreme General’s intention is to leave only two thousand troops in the city, under Advisor Wu’s command to hold Anyang.”

“The Supreme General and General Luo Jing will lead eight thousand troops across the South Peace River, taking up formation on the southern bank to deceive the Chu forces.”

Changsun Wuyou’s entire face was filled with disbelief. Every line of his expression radiated skepticism.

“The Supreme General is crossing the river with only eight thousand men?”

Dantai Yajing smiled. “As I just told you, the Supreme General’s use of troops has always been unfathomable — and once he’s made a decision, no one can change it.”

Changsun Wuyou shook his head. “No — I must go persuade him.”

Dantai Yajing said, “Feel free, Advisor, but if you succeed, I’ll call myself the loser.”

Changsun Wuyou said, “I must go regardless. This is far too risky. If something were to happen to the Supreme General and General Luo on the southern bank, the defeat of our southward campaign would be a small matter — but if morale collapsed and the Chu forces recaptured Anyang, even your line of retreat, General, would be cut off.”

Dantai Yajing said, “Go ahead and try. I argued with him for a full hour and got nowhere.”

“I’m going right now.”

Changsun Wuyou turned and walked out.

After nightfall, Changsun Wuyou returned, exhausted and dejected.

Dantai Yajing smiled and asked, “Did you manage to persuade him? I can tell by your expression that you didn’t. I said it before — once the Supreme General makes a decision, only the King of Ning can change it.”

Changsun Wuyou shook his head. “The Supreme General is rather… rather stubborn. I talked myself hoarse, and he wouldn’t hear a word of it.”

“We’ll just have to proceed as the Supreme General instructed.”

Dantai Yajing said, “The Supreme General knows what he’s about. Trust me on that.”

Changsun Wuyou still shook his head. “Taking such reckless risks, betraying the trust the King of Ning has placed in us — even if we win, I’m going to lodge a formal complaint against him before the King of Ning when we return!”

Dantai Yajing burst out laughing. “Advisor, calm your anger. Better to think about our eastward march on Qingzhou.”

Changsun Wuyou let out a long sigh. “How could the Supreme General act so rashly!”

Over the following days, Dantai Yajing drew large quantities of provisions and supplies, then led his troops eastward.

He would have to march east for a considerable distance — a thousand-mile journey before he could loop around Yuzhou.

And once he was gone, Tang Pidi’s position would be completely unsupported.

On the fourth day after the division of forces, Changsun Wuyou said he wanted to cross to the southern bank to see for himself how Chu forces were distributed along the way.

So Dantai Yajing assigned personal soldiers to protect him, and Changsun Wuyou boarded a boat and crossed the river.

He had left all his personal attendants behind in Jizhou for this campaign — this naturally ensured that no one would be suspicious.

But shortly after the army set out, on the third day after the main force had departed Jizhou, Zhan Li used the pretext of going out to sightsee, and with a few men guarding the mystical box, slipped away.

The others returned as usual to the residence in the city, as though nothing had happened.

Just as several small boats reached the middle of the river, by some unclear cause, one boat suddenly swung sideways and rammed into the vessel carrying Changsun Wuyou.

Changsun Wuyou lost his footing and fell into the river. Ning soldiers leapt into the water from all sides to rescue him.

Yet oddly, they found nothing — no body, and no sign of life.

Dantai Yajing was greatly alarmed and dispatched search parties to comb the river for days, but they came up with nothing.

Four days later. Southern bank of the river. The Chu Army main camp.

Dozens of warhorses came galloping up, pulling rein at the camp’s entrance. Soldiers on duty immediately moved to stop them.

These dozens of riders wore no armor. Charging into a military camp like this — it was practically a courtesy not to shoot them dead on sight.

“How bold!”

One of them shouted furiously. “Don’t you recognize the Supreme General?!”

The guard was startled. He looked more carefully — and it was indeed the Supreme General, who had been missing for the better part of a year.

The man on horseback, Changsun Wuyou, raised a hand. “Sound the drums. Have all officers assemble in the main tent.”

“Yes!”

A moment later, the drums sounded.

Officers from every camp heard the drums and hurried to the central command tent.

That enormous military tent bore a large mountain-shaped insignia.

Outside the tent stood a flagpole as thick as a man’s waist, dozens of feet tall, from which a great banner flew.

That banner bore two characters, written in a style that evoked the clash of iron horses in battle.

Those two characters read: Yuwen.

Generals came rushing in. The moment they stepped through the tent flap, they saw Changsun Wuyou, now dressed in the full battle armor of a supreme general.

“We pay our respects to the Supreme General!”

The Chu Army’s officers bowed in unison.

“Rise, all of you.”

When Changsun Wuyou finished speaking, he waved a hand and ordered, “Someone go fetch me something to eat — and a pot of tea.”

A personal soldier hurried out, and shortly returned with food and tea.

“I went by the alias Changsun Wuyou, using the guise of a member of the Changsun clan, and infiltrated Jizhou. I obtained the Ning Army garrison map from Li Chi’s study — was it sent back?”

“It was, Supreme General!”

This young, refined-looking gentleman, once dressed in a supreme general’s battle armor, had acquired a markedly more martial bearing.

“More than half of you are from the Yuwen family.”

He looked across the assembled officers, reached out and tore off a chicken leg, gnawing at it as he spoke. “You all know what the Yuwen family has been through.”

He finished one chicken leg in two or three bites and tore off another.

This ravenous, wolfing manner was nothing like the elegant, refined, measured figure he had been in Jizhou — the two were worlds apart.

“The Yuwen family nearly had its entire bloodline wiped out.”

He swung one leg up, sitting himself on the edge of the table, and downed yet another chicken leg in short order.

“My grandfather. My great-uncle. My father. My eldest uncle. My other uncles. Several of my older brothers. All dead.”

He pointed at the assembled officers with the gnawed chicken bone.

“More than half of you were exiled along with me, Yuwen Shangyun. I believe that at that moment, you all thought your lives were over — that you would either be worked to death under someone else’s torment, or break under that torment and seek death yourselves.”

He tossed the chicken bone out through the tent flap. Several fierce mastiffs outside lunged for it, snapping and snarling at each other, a fearsome sight.

He raised a hand and patted his chest plate. “Ask yourselves honestly — weren’t you utterly without hope at that time?”

More than half the generals in the tent bent their heads in answer.

“Yes.”

Yuwen Shangyun said, “I too thought about simply dying — going down to the underworld to reunite with my grandfather, with my father.”

“But just as those thoughts of death had taken hold in me, the Emperor’s imperial decree arrived, commanding me to take command of an army!”

He rose to his feet and walked toward the assembled officers.

“This — is the chance to restore the Yuwen family!”

He raised a hand and pointed north. “Fight this battle to victory with me, and let the Yuwen banner fly once more — let the Yuwen name ring out once more.”

“The ancestors of our Yuwen family followed the founding Emperor of Great Chu when this dynasty was born, and earned a name on the battlefield that knew no defeat.”

“Today, I, Yuwen Shangyun, humbly borrow the divine power of our ancestors — and stake everything on this one battle to take Anyang.”

He strode to the map hanging on the wall and raised a hand to point at one location.

“Here — Tang Pidi has personally led his forces to lay a false formation. He has only eight thousand soldiers. He cannot stop our charge.”

“Once Tang Pidi is broken, we sweep across the river — first take Anyang, then attack Jizhou.”

Yuwen Shangyun said, “Li Chi is gambling. The forces he left to hold Jizhou number fewer than ten thousand. The bulk of his Ning Army has raced off to Qingzhou and cannot return in time.”

He let out a long breath.

“We were originally engaged with Li Xionghu in Yangzhou — but then Prince Wu arrived. He decided we weren’t up to the task and ordered us to pull back, sending us on a thousand-mile march to come and deal with Li Chi.”

Yuwen Shangyun’s gaze swept across the assembled officers.

“Prince Wu could dismiss us with a single word, strip away our battle merits with a single word. Are you satisfied with that?”

The gathered officers shouted together, “We are not!”

Yuwen Shangyun said, “Neither am I — so why did I agree without a word of protest?”

“Because this is the greatest opportunity we could ask for!”

He raised his hand and slapped it down hard against the map, again and again, a sharp crack each time.

“Jizhou!”

He said loudly, “The Emperor first schemed to have virtually my entire family murdered — and then offered a few casual words of comfort, as though that would be enough to make those of us left in the Yuwen family keep risking our lives for his Yang clan.”

“I agreed, for the sake of restoring the Yuwen family — but in truth, it was to have troops in my hands. To have power in my grip.”

“This time, while Li Chi’s Jizhou is left hollow, we take it… to hell with Great Chu, to hell with His Majesty the Emperor.”

Yuwen Shangyun’s voice had grown hoarse with emotion.

“Take Jizhou, and we don’t leave. We stay, build steadily, expand. Li Chi has already laid a solid foundation for us. With everything he’s prepared, it won’t take more than a year or two before we become masters of our own domain.”

He pointed a finger toward the tent entrance. “Anyone can make a grab for this world. Why should the Yuwen family be any different?”

“This time — we no longer serve as subjects!”

Yuwen Shangyun declared, “Ready your troops and arms. Tomorrow at first light, follow me to attack Tang Pidi — follow me to seize the world!”

The officers in the tent raised a single unified cry.

“Seize the world!”

—