On the day before the agreed date of the march, Dantai Yajing gathered his men and asked how the arrangements of the past several days had gone.
They had all received the same assignment: do not refuse anyone in the city who tries to win your favor.
Without question, the traffic outside Yibin Garden where Dantai Yajing was staying had been constant every day. His subordinates would have been no less in demand. Those who had no way to reach Dantai Yajing himself would spare no effort to ingratiate themselves with anyone under his command.
Dantai Yajing’s order to his men had been: refuse nothing. Accept whatever they give you. Agree to whatever they ask.
The reason was simple — he wanted a complete list of names.
When his men pooled their lists together, they came to several hundred names in total, military officers and civil officials alike.
Dantai Yajing handed the list to Gao Zhen. “Send someone to deliver this to the palace. The Chu Emperor will help us gather them all in one place. It saves us the trouble.”
After Gao Zhen took it and left, he asked, “General, if we kill all these people at once, the Chu army will be left without cohesion. How will we command them?”
Dantai Yajing said, “This battle is too important to leave to chance. I would rather wager on whether hundreds of thousands of ordinary soldiers dare fight this battle than trust it to men like these.”
After Gao Zhen went out and handed the list to a trusted aide, telling him to deliver it to the palace immediately and put it directly into the Emperor’s hands, he returned inside. Dantai Yajing gestured for him to sit.
“As of today, all thirty-seven thousand Chu forces within the city have been moved outside to encamp.”
Dantai Yajing said, “Tomorrow morning, those people will be urgently summoned to the palace. We need our own men inside.”
Gao Zhen said, “General, let me go. Once they’re all dealt with, I’ll ride out and catch up with the column. I’ll make it in time.”
Dantai Yajing said, “But what if I wanted to kill the Emperor too?”
Gao Zhen stared.
Everyone in the room looked at Dantai Yajing — including Gui Yuanshu. Every face showed some surprise.
Gui Yuanshu was a sharp man. He understood at once and shook his head. “Not worth the cost.”
Dantai Yajing made a sound of agreement. “That’s what I decided after thinking it over carefully.”
He rose and began pacing as he spoke. “We are subjects of the Ning King. Our Lord has said: do not touch Emperor Yang Jing or his child. But I have been thinking — as long as Yang Jing is alive, there is no telling what trouble he might cause down the line.”
“So I considered using this gathering at the palace to kill Yang Jing. But I’ve gone back and forth on it for two days and finally let it go.”
Gui Yuanshu said, “Killing him would certainly eliminate a future risk. But it would do little to help the Lord smoothly bring the Jiangnan territories under his rule — and would likely stir up unnecessary resistance.”
Dantai Yajing said, “So tomorrow, we handle it differently.”
He looked at Gao Zhen. “When you get to the palace, don’t act yourself. If the Emperor says to leave it in your hands, tell him the General has already given instructions — leave it to His Majesty to deal with.”
Gao Zhen nodded. “Understood. Let Yang Jing’s own people do it. That way no one will ever want to follow Yang Jing again.”
Dantai Yajing nodded. “Exactly.”
He looked at Gui Yuanshu. “Minister Gui, go with Gao Zhen to the palace tomorrow. You know how to read a room better than he does.”
Gui Yuanshu nodded. “As the General commands.”
—
On the other side of the city, the Palace Guard Commander Sheng Muyu had already brought the prince to the City Horse Command. To be safe — hard as it was — he had given the prince something to make him sleep, a careful dose that would cause no harm, only carrying him into sleep until the next afternoon, by which time they should already be outside the city.
Commander Jin Jieyin of the City Horse Command looked at Sheng Muyu. “The City Horse Command column is tomorrow’s last to leave. By then, there should be no Ning army sentries watching the gates, so getting out won’t be a problem. Hide the prince in a carriage. Once you’re outside, the people I’ve arranged will cover you. Get off the carriage and hide in the haystacks beyond the walls. My men will watch over you until it’s safe to move.”
Sheng Muyu nodded. “And you?”
Jin Jieyin said, “I can’t leave. Once I get you out, I go back to the palace. If the Ning army truly dares lay hands on the Emperor, we who are here — we’ll have nothing left to do but give our lives.”
Sheng Muyu said, “I don’t think the Ning army will move against him.”
Jin Jieyin asked, “Why?”
Sheng Muyu said, “That is not the way of a sage ruler. If the Ning King wants to win the hearts of the people and bring Jiangnan smoothly under his rule, he cannot kill the Emperor under any circumstances.”
Jin Jieyin paused. “If that’s true, then the Emperor is sending the prince away with you, and father and son will be separated. Finding each other again after that — it won’t be easy.”
Sheng Muyu met Jin Jieyin’s eyes. “Do you think that even if the Ning King stood before the Emperor in person and swore once more that he would not move against him — the Emperor would believe it?”
Jin Jieyin shook his head. “The Emperor still would not believe it.”
Sheng Muyu said, “So with me taking the prince away, the Emperor will grieve — but he will also have peace.”
Jin Jieyin shook his head and sighed. “When things settle one day and everyone is living safely, ask after where the Emperor has been enfeoffed, then find a way to come back.”
Sheng Muyu nodded. “There is no other way.”
He cupped his fists toward Jin Jieyin. “When we part tomorrow, who knows how long before we meet again. May we both be well when that day comes.”
Jin Jieyin rose and returned the salute. “May we both be well.”
—
The next morning, before the sky had even begun to lighten, all the commanders were already gathered outside Dantai Yajing’s tent. The day before, Dantai Yajing had sent word: they were needed early for a briefing on the army’s deployment. No one had the nerve to refuse outright, no one had the nerve to simply flee — and so there they all were.
Some among them had already decided: if the fighting starts, so be it. Stay at the back, follow along. If they win, fine; if things go badly, run. Who would stop them then?
Others had already reasoned: there’s no running now, but once the attack starts, they could slip away. Who would be able to manage them at that point?
Just then, the young eunuch Yuan Ying arrived. He bowed slightly to the assembled commanders, straightened, and said, “The General Dantai is at this moment in the palace in council with His Majesty regarding the army’s deployment. His Majesty and the General both ask that all commanders make their way there as well.”
Someone immediately asked, “Why would the General go to the palace before the campaign?”
Yuan Ying replied, “General Dantai wishes to invite His Majesty to march out with the army. His Majesty has agreed, but His Majesty wishes to select a few personal guards, and so all commanders are asked to come.”
Hearing this, the assembled men no longer had reason to be suspicious. Taking the Emperor along on the march made sense — it ensured the Emperor could not go back on his word while they were in the field.
And so every one of them set off for the palace, flowing out like a tide.
—
In the palace, the Emperor looked at Gao Zhen and frowned slightly.
Gao Zhen had brought only a few dozen personal guards. What could they accomplish? And aside from them, there was only Gui Yuanshu — the man the Emperor had tried to kill but failed.
Gui Yuanshu stood to one side and said nothing. The Emperor had nothing easy to say to him, either — it was a matter of life and death, and Gui Yuanshu had no particular obligation to forgive him.
“General Gao — when will your troops enter the palace?”
The Emperor asked.
Gao Zhen inclined his head slightly. “Your Majesty, the General gave his orders: this is the palace, and as long as Your Majesty is still in the palace, no disrespect may be shown to Your Majesty. So I brought no soldiers. The General forbade it.”
The Emperor was inwardly shaken. It took only a moment to understand what Dantai Yajing meant — and he could not help but feel, silently, a word of admiration.
Have the Emperor move against his own hundreds of ministers and commanders. And after that, no one would ever be willing to serve the Emperor again.
The Emperor thought to himself: *Dantai Yajing — your methods are truly something. You have not killed me, but you have severed every road I might take.*
Gao Zhen had brought only a few dozen men. That meant he was not here to kill anyone — because with his own guards and the Palace Guard, surely he could handle a few dozen?
Gao Zhen looked at the Emperor and asked, “Your Majesty, shall we proceed with the arrangements?”
The Emperor looked at Jin Jieyin, who had just returned, and gave a nod. The commander had signaled with a glance that the prince was safely out of the city.
With the prince safe, the Emperor had nothing left to fear.
“Jin Jieyin.”
“I am here, Your Majesty.”
“When the gentlemen arrive shortly, you’ll see to them.”
With that order given, the Emperor turned away. “I find I still have some drowsiness. I’m going to rest a while longer.”
Jin Jieyin bowed. “Your Majesty’s command.”
—
Dantai Yajing, of course, was not in the palace. He was not even in the city. He was among the Chu soldiers.
Looking at the dazed and frightened eyes all around him, Dantai Yajing climbed the platform that had been built in advance. It had been constructed for coordinating troop movements, but now it served as the stage from which Dantai Yajing would speak to the hearts of these men.
“Just a few days ago,” Dantai Yajing said loudly, his voice carrying as more and more people gathered around the base of the platform, “your commanders came to my quarters, one by one, to swear their loyalty. Can you imagine what they said?!”
“They said: so long as they could keep their rank, keep their wealth and their titles, they were willing to spend your lives to win this fight.”
His voice grew louder still. “Right there in the courtyard of Yibin Garden, the gifts your commanders sent me were piled like a mountain — all of it sitting there for anyone to see!”
“They said to me: so long as their own positions were secured, they were willing to lead their men in the vanguard, to throw themselves at the Yongzhou army and not care how many of you died. They even said: soldiers are for the battlefield — what does it matter?”
Murmurs of cursing had already begun rippling through the crowd.
“And so I had them all killed!”
The words landed like a thunderclap. Uproar.
“Quiet!”
Dantai Yajing raised his voice. “They wanted to spend your lives to buy themselves a future. I refuse. I will not let them do it. And I will not let you go in as the vanguard either — not to throw your lives away in this fight!”
“In this battle, I will lead thirty thousand Ning soldiers forward. Any of you willing to follow — fall in behind the Ning army. Until the last of those thirty thousand Ning soldiers is dead, not one of you will be asked to charge first.”
“Follow us in this fight and win it, and you will be issued Ning army uniforms, Ning army pay, and every one of you will be entered into the Ning army’s rolls!”
“Win this battle, and every one of you transfers to the Dazing City garrison. You will never have to go to another battlefield again!”
“Win this battle, and every rank will go up. Afterward — anyone who wants to go home will receive three years of back pay, so you can go home to a life without worry. Anyone who stays will also receive three years of pay, so you can set up a home here in Dazing City!”
“Win this battle!”
Dantai Yajing’s voice rang out. “Come back alive, and I will drink Dazing City dry with you!”
He leapt from the platform, landed on horseback, and wheeled the horse forward. “Those willing to follow — fall in behind the Ning army column. Those who aren’t — go where you will.”
And with that, he spurred his horse and rode on.
—