After half a night of rapid marching, by the time dawn broke, Wei Chiguang had led his eight thousand new soldiers far from the county town. From the moment he had ridden out with his troops, he knew there was no road back.
Life had a way of being utterly absurd. Before meeting Gui Yuanshu, he had still been thinking about how to train this force into shape — to forge it into the backbone of Dachu’s revival.
He had also wanted to become someone like Prince Wu: a man who could carry an entire dynasty on his shoulders alone.
Emperor Yang Jing was a remarkably gifted speaker. He could move anyone he spoke with.
Sincere, heartfelt — and able to make a person feel a sense of belonging almost immediately, along with the sense that the Emperor had placed his deepest hopes in them.
He had once told Wei Chiguang: *You will be our future Prince Wu.* One can imagine just how deeply those words had affected Wei Chiguang.
After every conversation with the Emperor, Wei Chiguang would come away filled with joy and excitement at the prospect of Dachu’s revival.
Those around the Emperor were drawn into that feeling too — every one of them utterly convinced that the Emperor could restore Dachu to greatness.
The only thing they ever found cause for sorrow was that the Emperor worked himself too hard.
Now, recalling all the words the Emperor had spoken to him — and then thinking of the skilled martial artist the Emperor had arranged to follow him in secret — a wave of revulsion washed over Wei Chiguang, the nausea of having every illusion stripped away. Once that feeling took hold, there was no containing it.
Since things had already come to this, he might as well be decisive about it.
This time the Emperor had granted him considerable authority, and he had left Daxing with no small amount of silver. That silver, of course, could not be left behind.
Not just the silver — in the shortest time possible, he intended to take all the grain, provisions, and funds from every location he passed through.
Having made his choice, he had no choice but to think of himself and his sworn brothers.
If Gui Yuanshu brought the other two brothers back to serve under Prince Ning’s banner, then he had best arrive with something to show for himself.
With that thought settled in his mind, Wei Chiguang set out on his campaign of requisitioning.
At every garrisoned outpost along the route, he swept up every man and horse, telling them only that he was taking them along for training exercises.
In the days since his departure, he had gathered the forces from every new recruit camp along the way. His strength had grown to over twenty-four thousand.
This entire force had no idea they were being led to defect to Prince Ning — and Wei Chiguang knew that telling them directly at this point was out of the question.
So once he had assembled his force of over twenty thousand, he announced a decision.
The court had been withholding rations and supplies from the new soldiers. He had submitted a memorial requesting that His Majesty investigate the matter — but the treacherous officials at court had responded by sending assassins to kill Wei Chiguang.
His wounds were proof enough.
What hurt him most was that His Majesty had apparently allowed it.
Wei Chiguang then told his men that he had decided to defect to the Heavenly Mandate Army’s Yang Xuanji — that only Yang Xuanji truly had the wisdom to recognize talent and would put this force to proper use.
He had thought it through: he would not march northwest, but due north. After crossing the river into Yuzhou, he would let the soldiers see what life was like on that side — and then broaching the subject of pledging loyalty to Prince Ning Li Chi would be that much easier.
Gui Yuanshu had said: *go see it with your own eyes, and you will know how different Prince Ning is from all the rest.*
What none of them had anticipated, however, was that after marching for a stretch, they actually encountered the Heavenly Mandate King Yang Xuanji’s forces.
Yang Xuanji had personally overseen the river crossing campaign, but suffered a decisive defeat at Tang Pidi’s hands. Left with no other viable option, he had reluctantly fallen back and entered Jingzhou instead.
The Heavenly Mandate Army left over a hundred thousand men to hold the river line against any pursuit by the Ning forces, while more than six hundred thousand troops poured in a great tide into Jingzhou.
When scouts reported that the Heavenly Mandate King’s great army lay ahead, even Wei Chiguang was startled.
But he immediately thought of another approach. He ordered the army to hold position, saying he would personally go and request an audience with the Heavenly Mandate King.
He left the main camp with only a few personal guards — then found a quiet spot, lay down, and slept straight through for three full shichen.
Then he returned to camp, assembled all his officers and men, and announced with righteous indignation that the Heavenly Mandate King had gone back on his word and proven himself utterly treacherous.
He told them he had met with the Heavenly Mandate King, but that the King intended to break up this force and distribute it throughout the six hundred thousand-strong Heavenly Mandate Army — and to strip Wei Chiguang of his Grand General position, leaving him only a fifth-rank generalship.
Not only would the force of twenty-odd thousand be scattered into the Heavenly Mandate Army, Wei Chiguang had also been pressured to agree that once they reached the walls of Daxing, the force would be returned to his command — but only on the condition that Wei Chiguang would lead them as the first assault wave against Dachu’s capital.
The moment these words were spoken, his men erupted in fury, every last one of them railing against Heavenly Mandate King Yang Xuanji in the most scathing of terms.
Wei Chiguang then declared: his sworn brothers now served under Prince Ning’s banner. Having already broken with Dachu, there was no returning to Daxing — yet nor could they serve as cannon fodder for the Heavenly Mandate King. So they might as well go and pledge loyalty to Prince Ning Li Chi.
Though the army’s morale was unsettled, there was surprisingly little opposition.
And so Wei Chiguang led his new army slipping past the flank of the Heavenly Mandate King’s forces and away.
—
Yuzhou City.
Li Chi sat atop the city wall, gazing into the distance. Whenever he fell into a daze at some elevated vantage point, it invariably meant he was plotting something significant.
Tang Pidi leaned against the wall not far away, equally silent. He knew better than to interrupt Li Chi when he was deep in thought.
Yu Jiuling’s wounds had improved somewhat. He sat perched on the wall a little farther off with his legs dangling over the edge, staring blankly into space — though in truth, he was busy thinking of what to name his coming child.
By his reckoning, the baby was less than two months away. Boy or girl, Yu Jiuling would love it equally.
Among those of his generation, he was the first to be having a child — and that sense of pride made him positively insufferable about it.
“Haaaah…”
Li Chi let out a long, slow breath.
Tang Pidi glanced over. “Figured something out?”
Li Chi said, “I was thinking about how my left eyelid has been twitching badly these past two days. It feels like we’re about to come into some fortune, but I can’t figure out where it would come from — so after thinking about it long enough, I started thinking about docking some of your wages instead…”
Tang Pidi couldn’t be bothered to respond. He naturally knew Li Chi’s mind was occupied with nothing so trivial.
Li Chi didn’t believe in fate or destiny — much less a twitching eyelid.
“Want to go out and have some fun?”
Li Chi asked Tang Pidi with a grin.
Tang Pidi pointed toward the southeast. Li Chi’s smile immediately broadened with delight. He had only said *go out and have some fun*, and Tang Pidi had already understood exactly what he had in mind.
Two men of roughly matched vision — whatever they discussed, it always felt easy and pleasant.
“How many troops do you want to give me?”
Tang Pidi asked.
Li Chi said, “All of them.”
Tang Pidi’s eyes narrowed. “All of them? That leaves Yuzhou with insufficient garrison strength — and the Heavenly Mandate Army could still move north.”
Li Chi said, “What are the odds?”
Tang Pidi said, “One in ten thousand.”
He turned to look beyond the city walls. “If the Tang banner doesn’t come down from the camp, the odds of the enemy moving north probably drop below one in ten thousand. More like one in a hundred thousand.”
Li Chi gave him a sideways glance.
Tang Pidi said, “I’ll take a hundred thousand men — the rest stay and garrison Yuzhou.”
Li Chi said, “You have over fifty thousand battle-hardened soldiers under your command already — add the Nalan cavalry, plus the ninety thousand new soldiers I brought from Jizhou, and altogether that’s roughly two hundred thousand. All of it is yours.”
Tang Pidi asked, “You really aren’t worried about that one in a hundred thousand?”
Li Chi rummaged around inside his robe for a moment and actually produced a small triangular pennant — with the character for *Tang* on it.
Li Chi held it up and waved it back and forth. “I have this. Good for bluffing.”
Tang Pidi immediately burst out laughing.
“So when do I leave?”
he asked.
Li Chi grinned. “Whenever you like. Leave early and I can save on rations… Yang Xuanji is expecting you to seize the moment, cross the river south, and cut off his rear — so we deliberately won’t go stirring things up in Jingzhou. Come at him from somewhere unexpected and give the old scoundrel a proper scare.”
Tang Pidi gave a slow nod. “Give him a proper scare.”
Li Chi looked over at Yu Jiuling. “Ninth Little Sister — I’ve got a task for you too.”
Yu Jiuling immediately perked up. “Boss, just say the word.”
Li Chi said, “Gui Yuanshu has gone to Daxing, so you’ll lead the Intelligence Guard in the meantime — once he’s back, you can go back to your leisure. First task: send people across the river into Yang Xuanji’s territory and spread word that I’ve appointed Tang Pidi as General of the Southern Expedition, and that we’re working out every possible way to gather grain and supplies. That way, the Heavenly Mandate forces garrisoning Jingzhou will have to split their men to guard every granary and storage site. They won’t dare let their guard down.”
Yu Jiuling nodded. “And then?”
Li Chi said, “Second task: arrange for people to recruit civilian volunteers — the more the better. Issue them military uniforms, get them drilling in formation along the northern riverbank. Make sure the Heavenly Mandate forces can see them — but not clearly. About twenty li from the river should work.”
Yu Jiuling nodded again. “Understood.”
Li Chi said, “Third task.”
Yu Jiuling looked at Li Chi, waiting.
Li Chi grinned and said, “If your child is a boy when he’s born, let him take me as godfather — if it’s a girl, let her take your older brother as godmother.”
Yu Jiuling’s eyes went wide. “What?!”
Li Chi said earnestly, “After all, the two of us aren’t married yet, so for the time being things have to be treated individually. Even if we’re not married, we can’t afford to fall behind on this godparent business.”
He cast a glance at Tang Pidi. Tang Pidi stared up at the sky — then after a moment, turned to Yu Jiuling and asked, “Would you mind your child having an extra godfather? I can’t fall behind either — the least I’ll settle for is a draw.”
Yu Jiuling’s eyes brimmed with barely contained laughter.
“Deal!”
He climbed down from the wall to go make arrangements, then turned back after a few steps. “Boss, while you’re at it, help me think of a name?”
Li Chi thought for a moment. “If it’s a boy, he could be called Yu Changyi. If it’s a girl, she could be called Yu Qing’er.”
Yu Jiuling let out a whoop of excitement and sprinted off.
Just then, a personal guard came running up the steps from below the wall — still some distance away, he called out at the top of his voice: “My lord! General Xiahou’s forces are nearly at Yuzhou City!”
Li Chi’s eyes snapped wide open.
Tang Pidi, catching Li Chi’s expression, couldn’t help but curl his lip. “Shameless…”
Li Chi burst into laughter, and without a second thought, took off running down the city wall at a sprint.
He and Xiahou Zuo had made a plan: Li Chi would come to Yuzhou first, and Xiahou Zuo would follow once everything in Jizhou was settled.
At this moment, the way Li Chi ran was exactly the same as back in those days at the Four-Page Academy in Jizhou City.
He flew down from the wall — he was at the south gate, and dashing all the way around to the north gate would clearly take too long. Just then he spotted a passerby leading a donkey along the road. Li Chi snatched the donkey out of the man’s hands, leaving the poor fellow thoroughly baffled.
At that moment Cao Lie and the others came riding up on horseback. Li Chi pointed at Cao Lie and shouted to the man, “Get the money from him!”
With that, he gave the donkey a kick and tried to charge forward — but the donkey clearly thought him an idiot.
*Did you even ask me whether I felt like running?* the donkey seemed to think.
Li Chi kicked and squeezed with his legs, even poked at its hindquarters, but the donkey just stood there without moving an inch — and then proceeded to relieve itself right there and then.
Cao Lie had one of his men pull out some silver for the passerby — and threw in a horse on top of it.
Li Chi stared at this development in utter bewilderment.
Cao Lie had given the passerby a *horse* — plus silver — in exchange for this donkey that wouldn’t run?
Li Chi said, “Give me the horse first.”
Cao Lie said, “So you were actually in a hurry to go somewhere?”
Li Chi said, “Why else would I buy a donkey?”
Cao Lie said, “I’d also like to know — we came riding in on horses, and you were over there stealing a donkey.”
Li Chi grabbed Cao Lie’s horse and vaulted into the saddle. “Give the donkey back to its owner — no need to get the money back.”
Cao Lie said, “That was my money…”
Li Chi said, “Actually — keep the donkey. We’ll eat it later.”
The donkey raised its head, ears pricking up, and after a brief pause turned around and walked away — trotting off with a little wag of its tail.
Cao Lie handed over the silver. The passerby looked at the amount and swallowed hard. “Would it be all right if I helped you catch the donkey back and stewed it for you? I’m not sure I can take this much money with a clear conscience…”
—
About twenty li outside the north gate, Xiahou Zuo could already make out the outline of Yuzhou City from his place among the marching column.
He broke into a wide, foolish grin — eyebrows arched, eyes bright.
—