At the foot of the mountain.

Xiahou Zhuo handed Li Chi a flask of water. “If Yao Zhiyuan can’t talk the old general down either, I suppose we’ll just have to tie him up and take him home.”

Li Chi: “Do you know where his home is?”

Xiahou Zhuo: “Tie him up and take him home — naturally I mean take him to *our* home, not his. Why would I go to all the trouble of tying someone up and then deliver him to his own house? That makes no sense. I tied him; I take him home. If *you* tied him, then he goes to *your* home.”

Li Chi thought about it and decided this was quite reasonable.

He accordingly told Yu Jiuling to note it down: if Gao Guangxiao were to be bound and brought back, all attendant expenses were to be deducted from Xiahou Zhuo’s wages.

Xiahou Zhuo said Yu Jiuling had better not write a single word if he knew what was good for him. Yu Jiuling said he wasn’t afraid of Xiahou Zhuo, debts have their owners and grievances have their sources…

Xiahou Zhuo said nonsense, was he supposed to be afraid? “Even if I can’t scare *him*, if I did scare him, I’d be down ten years’ wages. I’d never do it.”

Li Chi said he wasn’t that generous.

Yu Jiuling said exactly — “You scared the boss? So he docks you ten years’ wages? That’s some black heart our boss has. All that work Daoist Changyun put into blackening it, and you think you can get away with calling it *generous*?”

For that, Yu Jiuling was docked three years’ wages.

Yu Jiuling reflected that flattery was not something to be attempted carelessly; one had to find exactly the right angle.

Li Chi said if he hadn’t found the right angle, how would he know to dock him three years? He’d found it precisely right — right into Li Chi’s mood for docking wages. That was the highest form of flattery.

Yu Jiuling, on the verge of tears, said he really hadn’t thought that hard about it.

Xiahou Zhuo, who had initially been the one facing deductions, now sat off to the side grinning cheerfully, as though none of it had anything to do with him.

Yu Jiuling said to Xiahou Zhuo: “I was trying to help *you*, you know. I’ll have nothing left and I’ll have to depend on you.”

Xiahou Zhuo’s eyes went wide. “He docked *your* money — why are you shaking *me* down? Debts have their owners, grievances have their sources.”

Yu Jiuling looked at Xiahou Zhuo, then looked at Li Chi, then wondered to himself what on earth had brought him to this state.

Li Chi saw the look on his face and even offered a few words of comfort.

“Tell me honestly — have you picked up any skills after all these years with me?”

Yu Jiuling asked, “Which aspect are we talking about, my lord?”

Xiahou Zhuo raised a hand, slapped himself twice on the cheek, then reached up and pinched his face and pulled it outward.

Yu Jiuling: “That particular skill has definitely grown.”

Li Chi said: “If you’ve gained skills, naturally it’s reasonable to pay some tuition.”

Yu Jiuling said: “Is it reasonable to pay tuition for decades on end?”

Li Chi: “Truly unreasonable — I haven’t docked enough to reach a hundred years yet.”

Yu Jiuling stood up. He decided to go find Little Zhang Zhenren and Peng Shíqī to play for a while. Playing with those two might mean getting the worse of things, but at least it wouldn’t cost him money.

Xiahou Zhuo tilted his head up toward the mountain, calculated the time, and figured Yao Zhiyuan had been up there for over an hour with no sign of coming back down.

“If the old general is truly stubborn, even Yao Zhiyuan won’t be able to move him.”

Li Chi smiled. “If the old general were truly that stubborn, he wouldn’t have kept Yao Zhiyuan talking for over an hour.”

Xiahou Zhuo considered this. It seemed to make sense.

“Let’s talk about the Mei Mountain situation.”

Li Chi looked at Fang Biehan, who had been unable to get a word in, too busy grinning foolishly.

He had discovered that the greatest difference between working under the King of Ning and his previous life was simply this: now he was genuinely happy. Never mind the other kinds of happiness — just watching Yu Jiuling get the short end of things every single day in a new variety of ways was joy enough to last forever.

Seeing Li Chi look his way, Fang Biehan quickly swallowed his smile and assumed a grave expression.

Li Chi sighed. “You used to be rather stiff.”

Fang Biehan: “Was… I?”

Xiahou Zhuo: “I used to be rather stiff myself.”

Fang Biehan looked at Xiahou Zhuo. He didn’t dare question it outright, but his eyes said it all: *Was… you?*

He wasn’t yet comfortable enough to be direct. Now, the look Yu Jiuling gave Xiahou Zhuo — that one was perfectly clear: *Oh, come off it.*

“Are there any *muyíng* people at the Mei Mountain Camp?”

Li Chi asked Fang Biehan.

Fang Biehan nodded. “There are, and quite a few.”

Li Chi: “Anyone you know personally?”

Fang Biehan said, “Some. But it would be difficult to make use of *muyíng* contacts there, because Pei Qi trusts Pei Jinglun completely — the *muyíng* agents at the Mei Mountain Camp report directly to Pei Jinglun.”

Li Chi made a sound of acknowledgment.

From the map Fang Biehan had already sketched out, the Mei Mountain fortress was, by any measure, more difficult to crack than a fortified city.

Attacking a place like that head-on would mean devastating losses.

Xiahou Zhuo asked Fang Biehan, “What are the chances of bypassing Mei Mountain and going straight for Mei City?”

Fang Biehan shook his head. “The standing garrison at the Mei Mountain Camp is no fewer than sixty thousand. Six full armies are the permanent minimum — not counting recruits. If we bypass Mei Mountain to attack Mei City, those sixty thousand will come down and hit our rear.”

Xiahou Zhuo said, “We have enough troops. Send a hundred thousand to surround Mei Mountain and take the rest to attack Mei City.”

Fang Biehan said, “Mei Mountain can’t be surrounded. It’s hard for us to go up, but it’s easy for them to come down. Of those six armies, two are cavalry.”

He unrolled the map he’d drawn earlier and pointed to Mei Mountain’s location.

“Furthermore, the eastern face of Mei Mountain borders the Tao River. The Mei Mountain Camp has a naval force that can sail downriver to reinforce Mei City.”

Li Chi looked at Xiahou Zhuo. “If we don’t take Mei Mountain first, they’ll harass us every day.”

Xiahou Zhuo let out a slow breath. “Our fleet hasn’t been brought up…”

He gave a rueful smile. “And it can’t be.”

Though there were waterways into Shu, they didn’t connect to the Tao River. Even if the Ning navy entered Shu, it couldn’t reach Mei City.

He turned to Li Chi. “So this battle for the Mei Mountain Camp — it still comes down to the Wolf-Ape Company.”

Li Chi made a sound of agreement, then glanced sideways and saw several figures descending the slope.

Judging by their clothing, the one at the front was Yao Zhiyuan. But there was no sign of Gao Guangxiao.

Shortly after, Yao Zhiyuan stood before Li Chi, bowed, and without unnecessary preamble, relayed Gao Guangxiao’s terms directly.

“The Commander says he is willing to submit to the King of Ning. However, he will not march against Mei City, nor will he guide the army.”

Xiahou Zhuo’s expression changed slightly. A flicker of suppressed anger showed. They had shown Gao Guangxiao such great deference precisely because the man would be of great use. If he surrendered but could not be used, what had been the point of all this effort?

Yao Zhiyuan continued: “After I spoke with him further, the Commander said… he is willing to lead his own men, together with a detachment assigned by the King of Ning, in a different direction — and attack Tong Province first.”

The map Fang Biehan had drawn for Li Chi had long since been committed to memory.

The moment Yao Zhiyuan mentioned Tong Province, something pleased quietly unfolded in Li Chi’s heart.

Shu was not only Mei City. It was an enormous territory — over a thousand cities large and small. Mei City was simply the provincial capital, which was why it seemed so central. But beyond the gorge, the main road forked: one branch ran to Mei City, the other to Tong Province.

Yao Zhiyuan said, “The Commander’s hometown is in Tong Province.”

Now Xiahou Zhuo understood. Gao Guangxiao must have heard from Yao Zhiyuan about the Ning army’s policies for pacifying the people after entering Shu — and that had planted the seed of surrender in him.

But he wanted to see for himself whether the Ning army was truly as he had heard. And he wasn’t willing to directly go against Pei Qi — that would invite people to point at his back and curse him.

If he led a Ning army detachment to Tong Province, his name and reputation there would let it fall without a drop of blood being shed. Then he could watch with his own eyes how the Ning army governed the people — and decide his next step from there.

Once Li Chi understood the logic of it, he nodded. “What the old general has in mind is what I have in mind as well. If you are willing to stay and assist him too, I would be even more glad.”

Yao Zhiyuan exhaled a long, long breath of relief.

He had witnessed with his own eyes what the Ning army had done for the people — not taken a single grain from the common folk, and at great expense had transported grain and supplies from outside Shu to distribute to them. So he too had hoped his mentor would not die resisting the Ning army’s advance.

“I am willing to stay.”

Yao Zhiyuan bowed low. “I thank the King of Ning for his generosity.”

Li Chi turned back toward Yu Jiuling. “Go fetch Tantai.”

Yu Jiuling said yes and sprinted off.

Shortly after, Tantai Yajing came hurrying over and bowed before Li Chi.

Li Chi briefed Tantai on Gao Guangxiao’s situation, then said, “I will give you a hundred thousand soldiers. Together with the old general and General Yao, take Tong Province first, then advance southwest. I and Xiahou will lead the troops northwest toward Mei City.”

Tantai Yajing was not entirely pleased.

He felt that attacking Mei City was the real campaign — Mei City was the Shu army’s main stronghold, which was precisely what made it significant.

But being displeased was one thing; he understood clearly that the boss had chosen him because he was more than capable of the task.

Li Chi said, “Men of courage are without number. Men of strategy are without number. Men of both courage and strategy…”

Before he could finish, Tantai Yajing said, “I’ll go!”

Li Chi: “Don’t you want to hear the rest?”

Tantai Yajing: “No need, no need. Those words are enough to make a man feel on top of the world.”

Li Chi laughed. “Go and select your troops, divide up the provisions. You move out within five days.”

Tantai Yajing gave a fist-salute. “Understood!”

He turned to leave, took a few steps, and then turned back to ask tentatively, “Can I bring Ninth Brother along?”

Li Chi: “Why do you want him?”

Tantai Yajing: “Entertainment.”

Li Chi: “No.”

Tantai Yajing sighed, then looked at Yu Jiuling. Yu Jiuling said, “Don’t look at me. I keep the boss entertained, who keeps him entertained if I’m not here?”

Tantai Yajing drew close to Yu Jiuling and dropped his voice. “You little fool — I hear you just got docked three years’ wages, so I figured, come with me, and if there are any benefits to be had, you take them. I turn a blind eye.”

Yu Jiuling: “You’re turning one eye blind, which means you want half. What a black heart. I’m not going.”

Tantai Yajing: “Oh come on.”

Li Chi laughed. “No good deed goes unpunished — isn’t that right, Ninth Brother?”

Tantai Yajing said, “My lord, I have a request.”

Li Chi: “Go on.”

Tantai Yajing said loudly, “If I win the campaign — take Tong Province and advance southwest across half of Shu — I want to use that military merit to buy one thing: have my lord dock Ninth Brother’s wages for one hundred years.”

Yu Jiuling: “Oh, come on! Can’t win so you just destroy?”

Li Chi: “He’s already been docked close to a hundred years as it is.”

Tantai Yajing: “The second hundred comes out of his son’s wages. Not enough? Then his grandson’s…”

Li Chi laughed. “This Ninth Brother of yours — he’s not trying to ruin you over one thing. He means to ruin at least three generations of you.”

Yu Jiuling said mournfully, “What a terrible karmic entanglement.”

At this, Fang Biehan stood watching and grinning stupidly, while Yao Zhiyuan stared in stunned bewilderment.

*This,* he thought, *is how a man who is about to rule the realm is supposed to carry himself?*

It felt like it shouldn’t be this way, yet somehow it didn’t seem wrong either. His mind said no, but his body was perfectly honest: the corners of his mouth had already turned up.

He instinctively glanced at Fang Biehan — after all, Fang Biehan was, comparatively speaking, a person of the same background as himself.

Fang Biehan caught Yao Zhiyuan’s look and gave him a glance in return — one that said everything without a word.

*This is nothing. Just wait. You’ll be laughing your whole life away from here on.*

—