The Ning Army.

Tang Pidi stood on high ground beside the official road, gazing back in the direction they had come from, his brow furrowed slightly.

The Chu forces had held their position without moving, seemingly possessed of extraordinary patience.

After waiting roughly more than an hour, he finally spotted a cavalry unit approaching — his own scouts, whom he had dispatched earlier.

The scout commander reached the base of the rise, dismounted, ran up to Tang Pidi, and bowed. “Reporting to the Great General — there are no pursuing forces behind our army.”

Tang Pidi asked, “Are there any Chu Army scout units?”

The scout commander replied, “None of those either.”

Hearing this, Tang Pidi’s frown deepened.

This, too, defied common sense.

If the Chu Army had not already known that the Ning Army’s forces were thinly stretched, they would never have launched a direct assault on the Ning Army’s Jiangnan encampment. And if they had not known that Anyang City was equally stripped bare, they would never have marched their overwhelming force to bear down on it with such apparent certainty of conquest.

They clearly knew — and yet now they were not giving chase. When something runs contrary to nature, there is always something lurking beneath.

That something was Yuwen Shangyun.

“Not pursuing — that, I can understand.”

Tang Pidi looked toward Luo Jing. “A Chu Army commander would worry about an ambush, worry about falling into a trap the way Meng Kedi once did. That falls within the bounds of reason. But not even dispatching scouts — that tells me he has absolutely no intention of advancing north. This is a detail of the battlefield, yet it is precisely in details that great matters reveal themselves.”

Luo Jing smiled. “This Yuwen Shangyun confounds expectations at every turn. He is the only person who has made me watch you furrow your brow more than once.”

Tang Pidi gave a slight smile. “He is not the reason. I furrowed my brow not because he is difficult to deal with, but because I am probably going to lose a wager to Prince Ning.”

Luo Jing asked, “What did you wager?”

Tang Pidi said, “What we wagered — I’ll tell you another time. In any case, this man is not worth my furrowed brow and deep contemplation.”

Luo Jing asked, “Then who is?”

Tang Pidi said, “Who else could it be.”

Luo Jing suddenly understood, and burst out laughing. “You’re talking about our very own Prince Ning! Ha ha ha…”

Tang Pidi said, “Yuwen Shangyun not pursuing — that falls within the bounds of reason, and it is something we had already discussed long ago. But not dispatching even a single scout tells me his target is not us, but Dantai.”

Wu Naiyu nodded. “My assessment as well. He knows our forces are stretched thin — that is precisely why he dared to advance. His not coming now is likely because he has set his sights on Dantai Qi’s relief column.”

Luo Jing laughed heartily. “From what I have heard, this Yuwen Shangyun is a youthful hero praised without reservation even by that old schemer Yang Jiju. This time, running into you lot of…”

He glanced at Tang Pidi and ultimately thought better of uttering what would have been a rather coarse word.

So he rephrased.

“Running into opponents like you lot — that is simply his misfortune.”

Tang Pidi smiled. “If he wants to set his sights on Dantai’s column, then let him. But we cannot allow him to do so at his leisure.”

He looked at Luo Jing. “I am lending you six thousand Nalan cavalry. Take them and circle back toward Anyang.”

Luo Jing narrowed his eyes slightly. “The way you use troops… is a little shameless.”

Tang Pidi smiled. “He is not pursuing us, and I am left feeling strangely empty. A pursuit would suit me far better — go lure him out.”

Luo Jing said, “To think that I, Luo Jing, have always fought in an upright and honorable fashion, and now I must resort to this… It seems I have been missing out on a great deal of fun.”

That line made both Tang Pidi and Master Wu laugh.

“Very well, I shall go for a little circuit.”

Luo Jing raised his spear and mounted his horse.

Tang Pidi said, “I once heard that in Jiangnan, someone compiled a ranking of the combat prowess of the great generals of this age.”

“Among those who wield spears, you and Yuwen Shangyun are placed as equals — the Jiangnan saying goes: Luo Jing in the north, Yuwen in the south.”

“Yet when it comes to ranking the spear-wielding generals of the Central Plains, the one holding first place is neither you nor Yuwen Shangyun. It is Prince Wu, Yang Jiju.”

From Jiangnan, the ranking had long circulated:

*First Yang, second Luo, third Yuwen; fourth Zhang, fifth Zuo, sixth Xiahou.*

The Xiahou in this ranking was not Xiahou Zuo, but a Chu Army general by the name of Xiahou Ting, who currently commanded troops in the capital.

The Zhang referred to Zhang Yi, a renowned general under Prince Wu’s banner; the Zuo referred to Zuo Li, another renowned general under that same banner.

Tang Pidi said, “You two are ranked as equals.”

Luo Jing spat. “A ranking that does not even include you — what kind of ranking is that.”

He urged his horse forward. “You and I are the ceiling for every spear-wielder in this world. That old schemer, if he were twenty years younger, might be worth counting — but ranked first at his current age? Is that anything other than the people of Jiangnan shamelessly flattering him?”

Tang Pidi burst out laughing.

Luo Jing led six thousand Nalan light cavalry and, in a thoroughly shameless fashion, returned to the north of Anyang City.

*You choose not to pursue? Then I’ll come back on my own.*

Luo Jing gave the order, and the six thousand Nalan cavalry formed ranks at roughly two arrow-shots from the city’s northern face. Their formation was immaculate — they halted there in perfect silence, not a shout raised, not a movement made, simply staring at Anyang City.

Up on the city walls, Yuwen Shangyun came rushing over upon hearing the report.

At this distance, no far-seeing lens was required — it was all perfectly clear to the naked eye.

“Luo Jing, you wretch!”

His subordinate general, Yuwen Yingxiong, said with a dark expression, “When we chose not to give chase, he turns around and comes back to provoke us. I thought this so-called first great general of the northern frontier would have something remarkable about him — turns out he is nothing but a scoundrel.”

Yuwen Yingxiong, by age, was two years older than Yuwen Shangyun and was a senior member of the same clan. Yet all the young men of the Yuwen family now looked to Yuwen Shangyun as a kind of spiritual pillar, holding him in boundless reverence.

“Deliberate provocation.”

After a moment of contemplation, Yuwen Shangyun said, “Tang Pidi, seeing that I chose not to pursue, has deliberately sent Luo Jing back to provoke me. The meaning is plain enough.”

Yuwen Yingxiong felt a stab of private shame — he had no idea what that meaning was, and could not have said where it was plain.

Seeing the puzzlement in his eyes, Yuwen Shangyun said, “He is worried I intend to move against Dantai Qi’s relief column and intercept it. That is why he deliberately sent someone back.”

“I was careless. Had I issued orders to dispatch some scouts in pursuit, Tang Pidi would have mistakenly assumed I intended to advance north. But I dispatched no scouts — and so he deduced that my aim was to intercept Dantai Qi’s inbound forces…”

His tone had been light and calm until this point — but then, at these words, Yuwen Shangyun’s expression shifted abruptly.

It went dark. Deeply, visibly dark.

“How could he possibly have deduced that I know the direction of Dantai Qi’s approach? The only thing he should have been able to reasonably conclude is that I feared advancing north because of a potential ambush…”

Yuwen Shangyun’s hand clenched tightly; the veins on the back of it stood out sharply.

“Could it be that I have been exposed?”

He looked toward Yuwen Yingxiong.

Yuwen Yingxiong, for all his exceptional martial valor, was a person heaven had treated fairly — what was granted in the way of combat gifts had not been matched in the way of a sharp mind. He stared blankly at Yuwen Shangyun, unable to follow what his commander was saying or how he had reached the conclusion that he himself had been compromised.

Yuwen Shangyun’s eyes flickered rapidly as his mind raced through the calculations.

“If Tang Pidi had not guessed that I already know the direction of Dantai Qi’s approach, he would have had no reason to send someone back to provoke me.”

Yuwen Shangyun paced as he muttered to himself. “Thinking further — he sent someone back to provoke me, clearly intending to draw me into pursuing north. Unless he had long since seen through me… Dantai Qi’s eastward march with his troops was merely a feint, and the moment I left Anyang and advanced north, Dantai Qi’s forces would double back to retake Anyang and sever my line of retreat…”

With every word, Yuwen Shangyun’s expression grew worse.

“Tang Pidi fears I have seen through his plan — that is why he sent Luo Jing back… So from the very beginning, they never intended to strike Qingzhou?”

He snapped his gaze toward the north of the city, where Luo Jing’s light cavalry still stood outside the walls.

“Yingxiong.”

Yuwen Shangyun called out. “Take cavalry east right now and conduct reconnaissance along the route. Check for any sign of Ning Army movement in the vicinity. If my guess is correct, the Ning Army should already be turning back…”

Yuwen Yingxiong said, puzzled, “And what bearing does that have on our plans to intercept and ambush Dantai Qi’s column?”

Yuwen Shangyun said, “None, but…”

His words stopped dead, because there was something he could not easily say aloud.

It had no bearing on the interception of Dantai Qi’s forces — that was true. Regardless of whether the Ning Army had marched toward Qingzhou or had been maneuvering against him specifically, the fact that Dantai Qi had split off with his forces and marched out was real.

As long as he held Anyang and did not react to Tang Pidi’s provocation, he could sally forth from that base to intercept and destroy Dantai Qi’s column. Tang Pidi would be powerless to stop him. Equally, had he pursued Tang Pidi earlier, and had Dantai Qi then doubled back to take Anyang, his own force would have been left isolated.

But what this all meant was that Li Chi and Tang Pidi had seen through him from the very beginning.

They did not know he was Yuwen Shangyun specifically — but they had known he was a Chu Army operative sent to gather intelligence in Jizhou. And everything he had gathered in Jizhou had been information they were willing for him to see.

If that was true, then those two things he had spoken of before his subordinates as the greatest achievements of his life — where was the greatness in them now?

Even if he managed to crush the Ning Army in a single stroke and annihilate Dantai Qi’s entire force, the satisfaction was already gone.

“Li Chi intends to turn the scheme back against me…”

Yuwen Shangyun resumed pacing, speaking as he walked. “He guessed I was a Chu Army operative but did not know I was Yuwen Shangyun himself. He intended to lure me into Jizhou and then close the jaws of a trap around me, sealing me inside.”

“But Li Chi did not anticipate that I had no intention of striking Jizhou so quickly. My aim was to strike his relief forces as they advanced.”

Yuwen Shangyun stopped.

He looked at Yuwen Yingxiong and said, “Li Chi’s target was to seal me inside Jizhou. Thank the heavens — I had already seen through Tang Pidi’s thinking beforehand…”

He let out a long sigh. “These two men do indeed possess extraordinary ability. Had I carelessly given chase to Tang Pidi, I would have found myself caught in a pincer.”

After a moment to collect himself, he said, “Go now — take cavalry east yourself to find out where Dantai Qi’s forces have gone. If you find them, do not engage. Return immediately.”

Yuwen Yingxiong said, “We will hold fast inside Anyang — let him try anything against us!”

Yuwen Shangyun exhaled slowly. “Anyang is a formidable city. As long as we hold Anyang, it is a nail driven into the heart of Jizhou — Li Chi and Tang Pidi can do nothing about it.”

“With our army here in Anyang, we can cut Dantai Qi’s forces off and leave him isolated, then intercept and destroy him. By that same token — had we given chase earlier, and had Dantai Qi doubled back to take Anyang, we would have been the isolated ones…”

Having worked through all of this, Yuwen Shangyun’s expression eased considerably.

“Issue an order: have the soldiers on the walls shout their thanks to the Ning Army for the demonstration, and scatter some copper coins down from the walls.”

Yuwen Shangyun smiled. “If they want to put on a performance, we will treat them like performers. And tell them — they are welcome to come back tomorrow, the day after, and the day after that.”

He laughed. “An opponent like this — now *this* is what worthy opposition looks like. When I was holding the line against that Jiangnan strongman Li Xionghu in Yangzhou, I never had to spend anywhere near this much thought.”

Yuwen Yingxiong laughed. “No matter how formidable the opponent, they are no match for the Great General.”

Yuwen Shangyun said, “As I have said before — when facing Tang Pidi, never underestimate him. Whoever does will suffer for it. In battle, suffering means defeat. Defeat means death.”

He looked at Yuwen Yingxiong. “Go quickly.”

Yuwen Yingxiong cupped his fist. “By your command, Great General!”

He turned and ran down from the city wall. Not long after, he led a cavalry unit out through the eastern gate and galloped eastward at full speed.

Two hours later.

Ning Army. A scout returned to report.

“Reporting, Great General — the Chu forces were not drawn out of the city by General Luo. Instead, they have dispatched a cavalry unit eastward.”

Tang Pidi gave a small nod.

He gazed toward Anyang City to the south and murmured, as if to himself: “Yuwen Shangyun… he is indeed something of an opponent. Speaking purely of battlefield tactics and strategy, he is genuinely strong. But in matters of scheming beyond the battlefield, he still falls short of Prince Ning.”

—