Well.

This was a little awkward.

Inside the underground chamber, when Luo Jing and his men heard sounds at the entrance, they immediately readied themselves — though he felt fairly sure nothing was wrong. The newcomers were likely Li Chi and the others.

They were not. The first person through the entrance was Liu Ge.

The moment Liu Ge and Luo Jing’s eyes met, both had exactly the same reaction: a moment of stunned stillness, and then both reached for their blades.

It was fortunate that Tang Pidi was there.

“Both of you stand down.”

Tang Pidi said, “If you start fighting right now, I won’t hesitate to walk out of here — and while I’m at it, pay Commissioner Zeng a visit with some news.”

Luo Jing and Liu Ge both looked at Tang Pidi at the same moment. Tang Pidi wore an expression of perfect indifference.

It was also fortunate that neither of these men was stupid. They understood that a fight now would benefit no one — and would expose everyone, giving a furious Zeng Ling grounds to throw every last soldier at them, not caring if it cost him the city, until every one of them was dead.

“Give me an explanation.”

The proud Luo Jing looked at Tang Pidi, expression darkening, and said as much.

Tang Pidi, utterly unbothered by Luo Jing’s pride, countered, “Are you angry?”

Luo Jing frowned. “Why shouldn’t I be angry?”

“Is this your place?” Tang Pidi asked.

Luo Jing was startled.

Tang Pidi smiled slightly. “Not angry anymore, are you?”

He turned and told Liu Ge to get his people inside quickly. With this many men, and the entrance being what it was, moving three thousand into the chamber would take some time.

“It seems the Commissioner has been abandoned by everyone.”

Luo Jing glanced at Liu Ge and got in a sardonic remark. Liu Ge paid it no mind — it wasn’t worth the bother. He focused on urging his men to enter as quickly as possible.

Seeing Liu Ge ignore him, Luo Jing lost interest as well. He ordered his own men to stay on guard and went back to where he had been sleeping, settling down to watch Liu Ge’s people stream in.

He was genuinely surprised. Liu Ge was Zeng Ling’s most important commander — without equal, one could say. That even such a man had broken with Zeng Ling said enough about Jizhou’s chances.

His first thought had simply been that Liu Ge, like any man, feared death and had no wish to be buried alongside Zeng Ling in Jizhou.

Then it occurred to him that someone like Liu Ge would not leave Zeng Ling merely out of a fear of dying. Something must have happened.

The two groups kept to themselves, neither side inclined to pay attention to the other.

Tang Pidi stood between them, looking one way, then the other, and broke into a smile.

“The chamber has excellent sound dampening. If you’d started fighting earlier, someone might have heard — but once I leave, close the entrance door behind you and fight all you want. Outside, not a sound would carry. If you end up wiping each other out, it would actually save me some rations. Honestly, I hope you do fight.”

With that he left — with a certain irresponsibility about it.

Some time later, Luo Jing rose and walked toward Liu Ge’s side of the chamber. His own men all started to their feet as if to follow. Luo Jing waved them back. “Everyone stay.”

Seeing Luo Jing approach, Liu Ge stood. The soldiers behind him stood as well.

“Sit down.”

Luo Jing dragged over a sack of grain to use as a seat and settled himself across from Liu Ge.

Liu Ge waved a hand, and his men stepped back a few paces.

“Has the city fallen?”

Luo Jing asked.

Liu Ge answered, “Soon, I’d imagine.”

Luo Jing made a sound of acknowledgment and fell silent again.

“You were right to come down.”

Luo Jing let out a slow breath and said, “Zeng Ling is not a lord worth entrusting your life to. Someone like you deserves better.”

Liu Ge had not expected Luo Jing to say something like that. He was caught off guard, unsure how to respond. After a long moment, he said two words.

“Thank you.”

Luo Jing glanced at the wound on Liu Ge. “How is the injury?”

Liu Ge said, “Bring that up, and I take back the thanks.”

Luo Jing gave a short, surprised laugh. Liu Ge laughed too.

“Small of you,” Luo Jing said.

“You’re being magnanimous?” Liu Ge said. “Want me to hit you back?”

“I fought and earned that hit. If you want to, you’re welcome to earn yours back.”

Liu Ge sighed.

Luo Jing asked, “If Jizhou were to come under my father’s governance, would you be willing to…”

Liu Ge looked at Luo Jing. He said nothing, did not shake his head either — but Luo Jing understood at once. He gave a self-deprecating smile and said, “Understood.”

Liu Ge said, “Don’t rush out after the city falls. Whoever takes it may not be your father.”

Luo Jing smiled. “Since you’ve given me one word of advice, I’ll return the courtesy…”

He took out a vial of medicine and placed it before Liu Ge. “The injury is mine to answer for. Take the medicine as a gift. I can hit quite hard.”

Liu Ge pursed his lips. “Whether you hit hard or not — I know better than you do.”

Luo Jing let out a hearty laugh, rose, and walked a few steps away before turning back to Liu Ge. “If you choose to follow Li Chi and Tang Pidi, pass along a word from me — tell them to leave the Yanshan Camp.”

Liu Ge asked, “Why?”

“Has the Yanshan Camp arrived?”

Liu Ge answered, “Yes. And the first to breach the city should be the Yanshan Camp.”

Luo Jing sighed. “Then Yu Chaozong is finished. A man like that is not worth following — not for Li Chi, Tang Pidi, or you. After this battle, Jizhou cannot tolerate someone like Yu Chaozong. If the matter isn’t settled now, one day the Youzhou army and the Yanshan Camp will fight to the death — and you will all die in that battle.”

Liu Ge said, “You don’t want to meet Li Chi and Tang Pidi on a battlefield?”

Luo Jing said, “You think I’m afraid?”

Liu Ge said, “If I thought you were afraid, I would have just said you were afraid.”

Luo Jing exhaled at length and said, “If it ever comes to that, neither side will show mercy — so I’d rather it not.”

Liu Ge said, “Tell them yourself.”

Luo Jing shook his head. “I won’t say it.”

“And why not?”

“Because I am proud.”

Luo Jing smiled as he said it, then turned and walked back to his side.

A whoosh — a wine flask came sailing from Liu Ge’s direction. Luo Jing, who had just sat back down, shot out a hand and caught it.

He looked at the flask, then looked with puzzlement across at Liu Ge.

Liu Ge held up the medicine vial Luo Jing had left, tilting it toward him. “Courtesy for courtesy.”

Luo Jing laughed out loud, twisted open the flask, tilted his head back, and poured down a long, gulping swallow. It felt remarkably good.

—

On the other side of the underground chamber.

About an hour later, Tang Pidi returned, his expression not particularly pleasant. He had hidden himself to observe things in the city and had watched the wall being breached, watched the Yanshan Camp’s army pour in.

The main thing was — he had watched every single one of the Yanshan Camp’s soldiers celebrating with wild abandon. Watched them carry on and cheer and shout.

And so Tang Pidi understood: Yu Chaozong was finished.

This was not remotely the time to celebrate, not the time to cheer. In this moment, those Yanshan Camp soldiers dancing with joy in the streets had already forgotten that they had not yet taken all of Jizhou.

There were still tens of thousands of troops inside Jizhou. A Zeng Ling pushed to the edge of desperation would not capitulate so easily.

Tang Pidi didn’t need to keep watching. He already knew what was coming.

Li Chi had been waiting for Tang Pidi to return the entire time. He had also wanted to go out himself, but the people around him wouldn’t allow it.

“Has the city fallen?”

Li Chi asked.

Tang Pidi nodded. “It has. The Yanshan Camp broke through. They started celebrating the moment they entered.”

Hearing this, Li Chi suddenly bolted forward.

Tang Pidi had known this was coming, but he didn’t stop him. Because he had just been thinking: if he were Li Chi, he would do the same.

Because it wasn’t only Yu Chaozong — there was also Zhuang Wudi. Neither of them knew that Zhuang Wudi had already left.

—

At that same moment, outside the city.

On horseback, Prince Wu Yang Jiju lowered his far-seeing glass, a smile at the corner of his mouth.

“If Yu Chaozong can be taken alive, bring him to me. I want to thank him on the Emperor’s behalf.”

Prince Wu smiled. “Breaking through Jizhou was no small thing.”

Luo Geng laughed heartily, then immediately gave the order: “Sound the horns. Advance!”

His earlier stratagem had not succeeded, yet in truth he had come to hold a certain admiration for Yu Chaozong because of it.

Luo Geng’s intention had been: if a substantial portion of the Yanshan Camp’s forces had been deployed to the western camp, he would begin from the western gate — set fire to it, then drive the routed Yanshan Camp soldiers from the west into the northern Yanshan Camp’s own ranks while the Youzhou army pressed from behind. That way the battle would have been won more easily.

The result was that Yu Chaozong had seen through it, sending only a few thousand men over while making it look like tens of thousands. Luo Geng had seen through the ruse long ago.

Since the stratagem had failed, they would simply fight directly.

As the horns of the Youzhou army rang out, the heavy cavalry that made even the Black Wu warriors flinch began to form up and array themselves.

On the other side, Liu Li’s Yuzhou army had completed its flanking movement.

The Yanshan Camp soldiers who had just charged into Jizhou were still cheering — and then the rear guard found itself pinched between two regular armies.

Inside the city, Yu Chaozong was directing his forces to press on when someone came running to catch up and report that Luo Geng and Liu Li had made their move.

Yu Chaozong had expected this from Luo Geng and Liu Li all along. So before entering the city, he had ordered the army to form up defensive positions.

The rear guard of several tens of thousands had been standing in tight formation, ready for exactly this.

“Pass word back: the rear guard need only hold for half a day. I will have Jizhou in my hands by then.”

Yu Chaozong called out loudly, “Tell the rear guard — hold at any cost. When I have taken Jizhou, I will come to relieve them.”

“Yes, sir!”

The messenger answered and sprinted away.

And within the city, Zeng Ling — eyes by now a deep, livid red — had suddenly realized something. The Yuzhou army attacking from the south and east had nearly all pulled back, leaving only a token force to maintain the appearance of a siege.

He understood at once what Luo Geng and Liu Li were thinking.

If the Yuzhou army kept pressing south and east, Jizhou’s army would have to split their forces to hold those walls.

With the Yuzhou army pulling back, those forces no longer needed for defense could now be thrown entirely against the Yanshan Camp.

“Jizhou is mine.”

Zeng Ling murmured to himself, very quietly.

Then he suddenly erupted in a roar: “Jizhou is mine — mine!”

He leveled his sword forward. “Drive those greenwood brigands out of here!”

He had been pushed to the very edge. Every soldier in the Jizhou army was the same — their only choices now were to fight to the death or surrender.

But Zeng Ling had no intention of surrendering.

And so the Jizhou army, their own eyes just as livid and red, began organizing and counterattacking the northern gate in force. Down every street, in every courtyard, across every inch of ground in that part of the city — men were killing and dying.

The pressure from directly ahead suddenly intensified enormously, giving Yu Chaozong a jolt of alarm. Then he understood what had happened — he had walked into a trap after all.

Luo Geng’s plan had never been to use the Youzhou and Yuzhou armies in a two-sided squeeze. He had also used the Jizhou army itself — a three-sided encirclement.

And now the Yanshan Camp was the one in the middle.

Luo Geng spurred his horse to the front of the heavy cavalry formation. His blade pointed at the Yanshan Camp. His tone was withering contempt.

“Those brigands thought that because they’d beaten a few local garrison forces, they were unbeatable under heaven. Let them learn today what a real army looks like.”

Luo Geng raised his chin slightly. On the face of that stocky, unprepossessing figure — nothing but pride.

“Go. Grind them into dust.”

“Advance!”

The heavy cavalry formation, immaculate and unbroken, began to move forward, gradually picking up speed. The earth trembled. A tide that could overturn mountains.

—