With the mediation of Grand Chancellor Piao Henmeng and General Piao Henyong, the Bohai King agreed to offer eight million taels of silver to Grand General Tang Pidi of the Ning army as an initial payment.

Assembling eight hundred thousand young laborers was not a matter of days — it would require gathering people from across the kingdom.

At first, Piao Pushan had assumed his people would resist fiercely, perhaps even rebel. He had worried for nothing.

The moment word spread that those who went to the Central Plains to work as laborers would have enough to eat, would be clothed, and might even receive wages — it wasn’t only young men who came forward. Even the elderly suddenly felt a surge of strength in their limbs.

And in that, human nature proved complicated once again.

The Bohai people harbored deep hatred for the Central Plains — the result of generations of rulers stoking resentment. Yet the root of that hatred was simply this: the Central Plains was rich, and Bohai was desperately poor. So when those same people heard they could go to the wealthy, thriving Central Plains to earn money — and might even stay there one day — that seemingly deep-rooted hatred evaporated in an instant, replaced by an eagerness that could barely be contained.

Even Piao Henmeng had not expected this. Out of caution, he deployed large numbers of soldiers to keep order — fearing a popular uprising, prepared to suppress it by force.

Instead, the soldiers found themselves simply managing a crowd. The Bohai people were so desperate to be chosen that they shoved and clawed to get to the front. And in the chaos, more than a few Bohai soldiers stripped off their uniforms and slipped into the crowd, trying to register as civilians.

This alone proved the wisdom of Tang Pidi’s judgment: strip away eight hundred thousand young people, and Bohai would never recover.

In the camp.

Tang Pidi looked up from the military dispatches being sorted by his secretary and asked, “Still no word from Han Feibao?”

The secretary bowed. “Grand General, from the observers posted along the Yanzhou coast, there is no sign of any remnant troops from Yongzhou appearing on the shoreline.”

Tang Pidi asked again, “Has there been any word from Master Wu in Qingzhou? Have the pirates based at Yunlai Island been launching frequent raids on the maritime frontier?”

The secretary shook his head again. “Grand General, in this period we have received eight dispatches from Lord Wu. All eight note the same thing — no pirate raids on the maritime frontier. Lord Wu also remarked that this is somewhat unusual.”

Tang Pidi nodded slowly. He wondered: when did Han Feibao learn patience?

And in that passing thought, a suspicion surfaced.

Could Han Feibao already be dead?

As an adversary, though Tang Pidi had never once been defeated by Han Feibao — and had in fact driven him to desperate flight more than once — he had never let himself look down on any enemy. Whatever the strength or weakness of his opponent, Tang Pidi brought his full attention to bear every time he faced them.

That thoroughness was exactly why he understood Han Feibao so well.

In Tang Pidi’s reading, if Han Feibao wasn’t raiding the Qingzhou coast, it could only mean one thing: he had moved north. And if he hadn’t moved north, he would be making trouble along the coast. Both being absent at once — that did not fit Han Feibao’s character.

“Yuanzhen…”

Tang Pidi picked up his brush. “I’m writing to Lord Wu, the Military Commissioner of Qingzhou. Have it sent by the fastest means available.”

He finished writing and handed it to the secretary, who wasted no time dispatching it.

In the letter, Tang Pidi told Master Wu that he suspected Han Feibao might already be dead, and that the pirates on Yunlai Island staying quiet was likely either preparation for a push northward or evidence that agents had already been sent into Yanzhou to gather intelligence. He asked Master Wu to increase patrol vessels along the coast north of Yunlai Island and to subject all travelers to careful inspection.

The letter was sent — but from Yanzhou to Qingzhou was no short distance. By the time it arrived and Master Wu deployed his patrols, it might already be too late.

Tang Pidi then issued orders for every landing point along the Yanzhou coast: maintain a relaxed appearance outwardly while tightening security within. Any unfamiliar faces were not to be confronted on the spot — they were to be reported immediately to the nearest sub-office of the Judicial Garrison, which would handle the matter accordingly. By now, every sizable prefecture in Yanzhou had a Judicial Garrison branch.

With those arrangements made, Tang Pidi rose to go and see how many laborers the Bohai people had sent over.

Before he reached the door, Cheng Wujie arrived.

After saluting, Cheng Wujie said, “Grand General, that Piao Henyong is a first-rate lackey — from the look of it, he’s working harder for us than he ever did for Piao Pushan.”

He took a drink of water. “And I never imagined — in their nation’s hour of humiliation, men like Piao Henyong and Piao Henmeng still found a way to line their own pockets…”

Tang Pidi thought a moment and asked, “They’re taking money from the civilians?”

Cheng Wujie nodded. “Anyone who wants to come work in the Central Plains and has money pays to be bumped up the list. The more you pay, the sooner you’re picked. Those without money wait at the back. If Bohai King Piao Pushan ever found out, wouldn’t it make him sick with rage?”

Tang Pidi looked at Cheng Wujie. “You genuinely think Piao Pushan would be enraged to find out?”

Cheng Wujie: “Obviously.”

Tang Pidi smiled slightly. “Then what are you waiting for? Go find a way to make sure he finds out. Go. At a run.”

Cheng Wujie paused — then burst into laughter. “Grand General, understood! I’ll make sure Piao Pushan gets every last detail.”

He turned and actually broke into a run on his way out.

A few days later, in the Bohai capital.

Cheng Wujie entered as the Ning army’s representative to meet with Bohai King Piao Pushan. Piao Henmeng and Piao Henyong, who fancied themselves heroes working both sides to everyone’s benefit, were naturally present as well.

Once both parties were seated, Cheng Wujie offered a polite word of thanks to Piao Pushan for his contributions to the friendship between their two nations.

Piao Pushan felt no particular need for that thanks.

Cheng Wujie also conveyed Grand General Tang Pidi’s sincerity: once the eight hundred thousand laborers were assembled, the Ning army would withdraw from Bohai territory and return the captured Jintang Pass to the Bohai King.

Humiliating as it all was, Piao Pushan arranged for music and dancing to receive Cheng Wujie, displaying the magnanimity of a great ruler.

As the drinking went on, Cheng Wujie began to seem slightly unsteady.

First, he pointed to two of the more beautiful dancers and announced he’d be taking them with him — to Piao Pushan’s visible displeasure.

Then he addressed the room and declared that Piao Henyong and Piao Henmeng were to be the Great Ning Empire’s most valued friends in Bohai.

Cheng Wujie, affecting the slur of a drunk man, turned to Piao Henmeng: “Chancellor, a man of your talent is a rare thing — not just in Bohai, even in the Central Plains, people with your kind of ability are hard to find.”

Piao Henmeng hurriedly deflected the compliment, shot a careful glance at Piao Pushan’s expression, and kept trying to steer the conversation elsewhere.

But a drunk man doesn’t pick up on social cues.

Cheng Wujie looked at Piao Pushan and smiled. “Bohai King, I have to put in a good word for your Chancellor. He is truly capable.”

Piao Pushan forced a smile. “Yes. The Chancellor’s abilities are something I hold in high regard.”

Cheng Wujie said, “A loyal minister through and through. You must make good use of him. From now on, all dealings between our Great Ning Empire and your Bohai Kingdom — if Chancellor Piao and General Piao Henyong are not involved, we won’t receive anyone.”

“Bohai King, think about it — your Chancellor, wanting to save you money, truly stopped at nothing. He felt it wasn’t right, as a minister, to let his king shoulder the eight hundred million taels alone.”

“So he went to the civilians set to go as laborers — those who wanted to go and had money paid for a spot near the front of the line.”

As he said this, Piao Henmeng’s face had already changed. He shot to his feet. “General Cheng, you really cannot drink anymore — you’re starting to talk nonsense.”

Cheng Wujie pushed away the hand on his arm with a smile. “What are you talking about? I’m saying good things about you.”

He continued, “He collected money from the civilians, used that money to pay us, and those funds then went to feeding and clothing your people — in effect, the people paid for themselves rather than having the Bohai Kingdom foot the bill. And just like that, Bohai King — your Chancellor saved you eight hundred million taels in a single stroke.”

He pointed at Piao Henyong. “And the General contributed enormously as well — without him personally leading soldiers to keep order, it surely would have descended into chaos.”

By now, the faces of Piao Henmeng and Piao Henyong had gone white as paper.

Piao Pushan sat with his wine cup in hand. From the force of his grip, his knuckles had begun to pale, the tendons on the back of his hand standing out in sharp relief.

Cheng Wujie’s attendant saw that the moment was ripe, stepped forward, and took hold of Cheng Wujie’s arm. “General, you really cannot drink any more.”

Cheng Wujie, playing his intoxication to the hilt, shook off the hand. “Are you saying I can’t hold my liquor? The Grand General himself has praised my capacity. Who are you to stop me?”

The attendant said, “If the Grand General finds out, he’ll scold you.”

Cheng Wujie seemed to sober up on the spot at the mere mention of Tang Pidi’s name. Swaying slightly, he said, “You’re right — can’t let drink get in the way of business. I’m stopping. I’m leaving.”

Without a glance at anyone else in the room, he let himself be helped out by his attendant.

A Bohai officer, furious, stepped forward to block his way: “You can’t just walk out after being this rude — who gave you permission to leave?”

Cheng Wujie, at the sight of someone blocking him, suddenly went sharp. The officer had intended to detain him — but when he met Cheng Wujie’s gaze, he instinctively stepped back two paces.

“Ha ha ha ha ha—!”

Cheng Wujie laughed, loud and free.

“You people have never seen a battlefield piled with corpses. You’ve never killed without count. You put on a suit of iron and call yourselves generals — and you think you can stop me?”

He left, laughing. The officer who had stepped forward said nothing more.

After Cheng Wujie was gone, Piao Henmeng and Piao Henyong turned to face their Bohai King.

But Piao Pushan had begun to laugh. He laughed, head thrown back, and then turned and walked away without a single word.

Leaving only those two brothers standing where they were, shaking, as though Bohai’s winter had arrived ahead of schedule.

The gathered Bohai officials watched them with an assortment of expressions — some with pity, some with undisguised satisfaction at their misfortune.