After the affair on the grasslands was settled, Li Chi and his party returned to Jizhou, and the southward campaign would now have to be considered more carefully.

Shortly after Li Chi returned to Jizhou, words of a different kind began to reach his ears — and these words were aimed directly at Tang Pidi.

“When did this start?” Li Chi asked.

Gao Xining said: “Based on the information we’ve gathered so far, the talk began circulating in Jizhou City shortly after Xu Ji left the city for Yanzhou. After we returned this time, the voices quieted down — but then when you led your forces to the grasslands, they surfaced again.”

She looked toward Li Chi: “I’ve already sent people to investigate throughout the region — within Jizhou and across the various prefectures and counties under Jizhou’s jurisdiction. Based on what we have now, this kind of rumor is circulating in every one of them, so I suspect it extends well beyond Jizhou — perhaps to Yanzhou and Qingzhou as well, and possibly even Yuzhou.”

Li Chi’s expression had darkened. Gao Xining could tell that Li Chi was truly furious this time.

There were those saying that Tang Pidi had been commanding troops in the field for a prolonged period, holding substantial military power, and that he had grown disloyal in his heart.

If not — the northern frontier campaign had been critically dangerous, and the Prince of Ning had nearly lost his life — so why had Tang Pidi remained where he was, not moving?

There were those saying Tang Pidi had deliberately refused to come back — that the Prince of Ning had already issued military orders summoning him north, and he had defied the command.

And worse still, there were those saying that Tang Pidi had been hoping the Prince of Ning would die on the northern frontier — for if that happened, he could openly declare himself king without any need for justification.

When Xu Ji was present, such voices were absent — which meant they still feared Xu Ji coming to investigate. The moment Xu Ji left for Yanzhou, they began stirring up trouble in Jizhou.

When the Prince of Ning returned from the northern frontier, the voices vanished again — they were evidently even more afraid of the Prince of Ning holding them to account.

The moment the Prince of Ning departed, they emerged once more, spreading their rumors in all directions.

By now, without anyone fully realizing it, people all across Jizhou were talking about this matter.

And these rumors, as it happened, seemed to have a certain logic and evidence behind them — Tang Pidi had repeatedly failed to return, and many people found it convincing precisely because he kept not coming back. This was clearly a sign that he had harbored other intentions.

There were also rumors that when the Prince of Ning had originally ordered Tang Pidi to lead troops in attacking Yuzhou, Tang Pidi had already been contemplating rebellion.

The uprising that had appeared in Yuzhou — it hadn’t been schemed by the Tianming King Yang Xuanji at all, but had been secretly orchestrated by Tang Pidi himself.

The common people held the Prince of Ning in deep esteem, and so these rumors only grew more intense — because the people were frightened. If the great general were to rebel, the Prince of Ning would suffer a devastating blow.

If one were to ask whose side the common people of Jizhou stood on — they stood entirely on the Prince of Ning’s side, of course. So even without any malicious intent, they ended up stoking the fires and fanning the flames.

“Has anything specific been found?” Li Chi asked.

Gui Yuanshu, the Supreme Commander of the Intelligence Guard, bowed and answered: “The earliest traces of this message appear to have come from the mouths of peddlers and street vendors, spreading through the markets and common quarters of the city. My assessment is that this is either a sinister scheme of the Chu court, or the poisonous work of Yang Xuanji.”

Li Chi gave a sound of acknowledgment: “What about the officials?”

Gui Yuanshu said: “The officials… are also spreading it.”

Li Chi closed his eyes and remained silent for a long while.

If one absolutely had to name a single mastermind behind this, Prince Wu Yang Jiju was the most likely candidate. But this sort of scheme was perhaps not the work of one party alone. Who did Yang Jiju fear most? Old Tang and no one else. Who did Li Xionghu fear most? Tang Pidi. Who did Yang Xuanji fear most? Tang Pidi as well.

They had no way to defeat Old Tang on the battlefield, so they resorted to this underhanded approach.

“Gui Yuanshu,” Li Chi said, and looked toward him, lowering his voice to give a few instructions.

Gui Yuanshu’s eyes immediately lit up. He answered at once, then turned and ran from the room.

Xiahou Zuo said: “This kind of rumor cannot hurt us or Old Tang — but it will damage morale and public sentiment.”

Li Chi nodded. What Xiahou Zuo was worried about was exactly what he was worried about.

The people spreading these rumors naturally understood that their fabrications could never shake the Prince of Ning’s trust in the great general. But as the rumors grew heavier and heavier, seeping into the various armies, there was a fear that some would genuinely take them to heart.

For their own sake, such people would deliberately distance themselves from Old Tang’s faction — and some would even begin to think that the Prince of Ning’s unwavering belief was nothing but a performance.

They didn’t care what the Prince of Ning actually thought. They only cared about what they themselves believed the Prince of Ning must be thinking.

The Prince of Ning was human — could it be that even the Prince of Ning had no fear of Tang Pidi displacing him?

They would also think about how more than half of the territory now under the Prince of Ning’s rule had been won by Tang Pidi.

Most of the military commanders had come up through Tang Pidi’s ranks. In terms of prestige within the army, the Prince of Ning didn’t even measure up to Tang Pidi.

If Tang Pidi truly chose to rebel, the Prince of Ning would be powerless to resolve the situation within the army — utter chaos would inevitably follow.

These thoughts wouldn’t occur to the Prince of Ning — but to those below, they absolutely would.

When people hear rumors, their instinct is to think about which side to stand on, and their desire to choose a side isn’t necessarily driven by future prospects — it is more fundamentally driven by self-preservation.

Those with connections to Old Tang, and even those without any connection at all, would rush to cut ties.

If these rumors were to reach Suzhou and spread quietly through Old Tang’s own army, military morale would inevitably waver.

Soldiers would be frightened — afraid that they might somehow become traitors without any reason at all.

In truth, this kind of rumor had already been circulating in Jizhou and Qingzhou and other regions before the Prince of Ning led his army to resist the Black Wu forces on the northern frontier.

The reason it spread most fiercely in those two places was not entirely unrelated to Shen Shanzhu — though naturally Shen Shanzhu herself knew nothing of it.

Among the whispers, there were also many voices saying: Yanzhou was Shen Shanzhu’s home territory, and that woman had taken Qingzhou in a single stroke. Tang Pidi was in Suzhou, and his forces still garrisoned Yuzhou — if that husband and wife truly decided to rebel, the Prince of Ning would have no means of resistance.

And at this time, Shen Shanzhu had already led her army south to Suzhou to rejoin Tang Pidi.

Along the road south, she had heard these rumors herself.

Suzhou City. The Commander’s Mansion.

Shen Shanzhu looked toward Tang Pidi with a troubled expression: “Perhaps you should make a trip back to Jizhou.”

Tang Pidi smiled slightly, lifted his teacup for a sip, and said with an air of easy calm: “I’m not going back.”

Shen Shanzhu asked: “Why not?”

Tang Pidi smiled: “Going back means getting scolded. Just thinking about it is frightening — I’m not doing it.”

Shen Shanzhu was mildly taken aback.

She had come from the Baishan Army, and she had seen enough of the internal scheming within the Baishan Army — her own younger brother had died from exactly that kind of scheming. Though it was said he had been bought off by people from the Shanhai Army, if he had not already harbored divided loyalties, could he have been bought?

Her sister-in-law had fled for thousands of li on foot. Some of her former subordinates had remained utterly loyal, protecting them throughout — but another portion had hunted them down in relentless pursuit.

After a moment of silence, Shen Shanzhu said: “If you won’t go back, then let me submit my resignation to the Prince of Ning.”

Those terrifying rumors — they were enough to make one’s heart tremble with cold fear.

By now, throughout the Ning Army — throughout half the realm — everyone knew that Shen Shanzhu was Commander Tang Pidi’s woman.

The two of them currently held identical military ranks, merit ranks, and noble titles. Of the Ning Army’s three great generals, two of them were standing right here.

A woman’s instincts are more finely attuned. She knew that the Ning Army could not do without Tang Pidi right now, and that the Prince of Ning could not do without Tang Pidi either.

So for the sake of the greater situation, perhaps it was better for her to step down.

Tang Pidi smiled: “If I went back, he would scold me. If you went back, he would still scold me — and far more severely than if I’d gone myself. That kind of losing proposition — I’m not interested.”

Shen Shanzhu said: “But public opinion is a fearsome thing.”

In her heart, she was certain that no one could defeat Tang Pidi in open battle on the field. In her eyes, Tang Pidi was a peerless hero of this age.

But to bring a person down — the most effective means almost never lies in facing them directly.

This time, the enemy’s scheme had struck at the very weakest point of human nature.

Tang Pidi rose and walked to the window, looking outside, his voice calm and unhurried: “You’re not wrong — having reached the position I’m in, I should indeed fear the words *public opinion is a fearsome thing.*”

He turned to look back at Shen Shanzhu: “But the luckiest thing is that I encountered him, and he encountered me.”

Shen Shanzhu said: “The Prince of Ning has no doubts about you — but those below…”

Tang Pidi said: “If you were to resign, those below would be even more convinced the rumors are true. And those who don’t believe the rumors — they would harbor resentment toward the Prince of Ning, especially your own subordinates.”

Shen Shanzhu fell into thought, and her expression grew even darker.

The scheme truly was venomous — one could not deny it.

If she resigned, regardless of whether the Prince of Ning approved or refused, her subordinates would feel resentment — would feel the Prince of Ning did not trust them.

This army had only just returned from the battlefield fighting off an external enemy. If morale wavered now, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Suppose the Prince of Ning actually approved — the Yanzhou Army’s mutiny would become a foregone conclusion.

Even if Shen Shanzhu herself held firm, her subordinates would still rebel.

Tang Pidi walked up to stand before Shen Shanzhu, his voice gentle: “You and I are both figures at the center of these rumors — so no matter what we do, we cannot stop those people’s mouths.”

He gave Shen Shanzhu’s shoulder a gentle pat: “Besides, stopping mouths — that has never been something I do.”

He said: “If I went back, he would ask me: *what are you doing here?* If I don’t go back, he would send someone to say: *everything’s been handled.*”

—

Yuzhou. The northern bank of the Red River.

A man who had come from Yuzhou City arrived at the camp, dropped to one knee before Zhuang Wudi, and said: “Commander, Young Lord Cao has sent a secret letter.”

Zhuang Wudi opened the letter, wondering why Cao Lie would suddenly be writing to him.

After reading through it, a glint of murderous intent flashed in Zhuang Wudi’s eyes.

He asked: “What does the Young Lord mean by this?”

The messenger bowed and answered: “The Young Lord says — whatever meaning the Commander takes from it, that is his meaning.”

Zhuang Wudi turned to look at his personal guard battalion commander, Di Gandang: “Take my personal guard battalion back to Yuzhou City. Once you arrive, you all come under Cao Lie’s command — whatever Cao Lie tells you to do, you do it. Have you understood?”

Di Gandang bowed low: “Understood!”

Half a month later, Di Gandang led the personal guard battalion — twelve hundred men — back into Yuzhou City.

Young Lord Cao Lie was already sitting at the city gate waiting. Word had come ahead of time that the unit was nearly there.

Beneath a large shade parasol, Cao Lie lounged sideways in his chair, a cup of fine wine in hand, watching the pretty young women who had changed into summer skirts now that the weather had turned warm as they came and went — and so he appeared to be in very pleasant spirits.

The beauty of life — sometimes it doesn’t matter whether what you’re seeing is yours or not. Being able to see it is already beautiful.

Di Gandang came before Cao Lie and bowed: “The Commander says: all matters are at the Young Lord’s disposal.”

Cao Lie gave a sound of acknowledgment, then asked: “If it comes to killing — are you capable of that?”

Di Gandang answered: “The only thing I am incapable of is defying a military order.”

Cao Lie smiled, reached out to take a paper from his attendant, and handed it to Di Gandang: “It’s all on here — go through the list one by one. If anything goes wrong, the Commander and I will each shoulder half the responsibility, so you needn’t be afraid of anything.”

Di Gandang took the paper, looked it over — quite a number of names.

He asked: “Kill by name, or kill by household according to the names?”

Cao Lie smiled: “By name alone — we don’t quite have that level of murderous intent here.”

He glanced northward: “That level of murderous intent — is up in Jizhou.”

—