Maoyang County.

From within that withered cornfield, the wailing was loud enough to scatter every bird within ten li in all directions.

Fortunately, the wailing did not last long — for the man being punished simply could not endure it for very long.

When the wailing finally ceased, Zhang Tang slowly walked back to the carriage and sat down, his gaze cold and indifferent as he looked at Yin Xin’an, who was drenched in sweat.

Xu Ji stood to one side, smiling as he said: “If you ask me, Brother Yin, why put yourself through all this? If you’d been willing to talk sooner, you could have spared yourself this suffering.”

“Lord Xu.”

Zhang Tang looked toward Xu Ji and spoke in a cool, flat tone: “The Tingwei Army is conducting an interrogation. It would be best if Lord Xu were to step aside.”

Xu Ji’s brow furrowed slightly, and his expression instantly turned cold.

“Lord Zhang, are you implying that by listening to the interrogation proceedings, I would go and divulge the Tingwei Army’s secrets?”

He could plainly see that this Zhang Tang had no liking for him — and the feeling was mutual.

“Lord Xu, I ask that you observe proper procedure.”

Zhang Tang raised his head and looked at Xu Ji, maintaining that same air of not giving a damn about anyone.

“The cases I handle, I report only to Prince Ning and the Grand Tingwei. No one else has any right to inquire.”

Xu Ji’s expression darkened further at these words.

“Lord Zhang, if I hadn’t noticed something was amiss ahead of time and sent word to the Jizhou Tingwei Army, would you even be here handling this case right now?”

Xu Ji said: “Lord Zhang, don’t be so quick to discard someone the moment they’ve served their purpose.”

Zhang Tang said: “There’s no discarding here, and Lord Xu is no tool to be discarded. Every one of Prince Ning’s subjects bears the responsibility of upholding the law and should have the awareness to do so. It’s true that Lord Xu discovered the matter with the Yin family — but isn’t that simply part of one’s duty as a subject of Prince Ning?”

Zhang Tang rose and walked to stand before Xu Ji, his eyes meeting Xu Ji’s directly.

“Lord Xu — how did Yin Xin’an come to hold an official post? And when, exactly, did Lord Xu first discover that Yin Xin’an was plotting treachery?”

These two questions drained the color from Xu Ji’s face.

Zhang Tang made a gesture of invitation: “The case I am currently investigating is Yin Xin’an’s and Yin Xin’an’s alone. If Lord Xu does not leave, could it be that there are other cases you’d like me to attend to as well?”

Xu Ji let out a snort and turned to leave.

To all outward appearances, he showed nothing beyond anger — yet inwardly, he felt a drumbeat of unease.

It was he who had reported the matter to the Tingwei Army, yes — but the report had not come the moment he first became aware of it.

This Zhang Tang clearly knew something. The threat was already woven into what he had just said.

Zhang Tang drew his gaze back from Xu Ji and turned it to Yin Xin’an. He sat down once more, and when he spoke again, his tone had leveled considerably.

“I am Zhang Tang, Thousand Magistrate of the Tingwei Army. It appears you already know who I am, so I’ll spare you the introduction. Let us speak of other things.”

Zhang Tang looked into Yin Xin’an’s eyes and said: “Though you are the principal offender, if you render sufficient meritorious service, I can still spare your life.”

Yin Xin’an jerked his head up: “You want me to betray my entire family?!”

Zhang Tang’s brow lifted slightly: “At this point — is there even any need for you to betray them?”

Yin Xin’an opened his mouth, but said nothing.

“In cases of this magnitude, all members of the household are typically put to death.”

Zhang Tang said: “The Yin family line must continue somehow. I’ll let you choose who survives. Who do you choose?”

Yin Xin’an looked toward Zhang Tang, but could not hold his gaze and quickly lowered his head.

“I’ll give you a way to earn merit.”

Zhang Tang said: “I’ll take you back to Maoyang County now. Maoyang is the ancestral seat of your Yin family — everyone involved is likely there. Once you enter the city, persuade them to lay down their weapons and move into the county garrison to await interrogation.”

“If they comply, the vast majority of them are minor figures. The charges against them likely won’t all carry the death penalty. Among them will be people you know — your juniors, your friends.”

Zhang Tang said: “You can earn merit, and many lives can be spared. Prince Ning, upon learning of it, would also take some comfort.”

He leaned forward, closer to Yin Xin’an: “Most importantly — if you cooperate with me, I will not subject you to further punishment.”

That last sentence made Yin Xin’an tremble. What he had just endured — even the depths of hell could be no worse than that.

Yin Xin’an instinctively glanced at the box. Though the Tingwei men had already packed the instruments back inside, even just the sight of it was enough to make him shudder.

“I…”

After a long silence, Yin Xin’an nodded: “I will go with you into Maoyang County.”

One hour later, on the main street of Maoyang County.

Twelve hundred black-armored cavalry stood in tight formation, at the ready. Surrounding the street on all sides were the Yin family’s private soldiers — at least five or six thousand of them.

They had trained their bows and crossbows on the black riders, but none dared make the first move.

At the center of the main street, Yin Xin’an stepped down from Zhang Tang’s carriage and looked around. His expression was ghastly.

The carriage door remained open. Zhang Tang sat within and said quietly: “Lord Yin, shall we begin?”

Yin Xin’an looked back at him with fearful eyes, then drew several long, steadying breaths.

“Everyone listen!”

After a long moment, Yin Xin’an called out loudly.

“The man who came back with me is Thousand Magistrate Zhang Tang of the Tingwei Army. He already knows everything of what we have plotted. But he acts in the spirit of Prince Ning’s benevolence and does not wish for mass slaughter.”

Yin Xin’an swallowed painfully, his throat burning.

“Lord Zhang has promised me: so long as you lay down your weapons, the great majority of you will not be implicated in this matter. He will personally petition Prince Ning on your behalf and ensure your safety.”

When he had finished speaking, Zhang Tang stepped down from the carriage.

To look at him, his build and appearance were not at all what one would expect of a commanding figure.

He was short and lean, with a faint air of something almost sickly about him.

And yet — from some point that no one could quite pinpoint — an aura of bone-deep coldness had come to cling to him, enough to make many men’s courage falter.

Zhang Tang stepped to Yin Xin’an’s side, swept his gaze across the assembled men, and called out: “As you can all see — standing before you right now are twelve hundred black riders of the Tingwei Army.”

He swept his gaze around once more: “Do any of you have the gall and the means to cut down twelve hundred black riders?!”

After those words fell, the Yin family’s private soldiers surrounding the street exchanged glances with those beside them, as though searching in each other’s eyes for courage or reassurance.

Zhang Tang continued: “Right now, you are nothing more than minor accomplices. Lay down your weapons, and upon my petition to Prince Ning, you may all be pardoned. But if you dare raise a hand against the Tingwei black riders — let alone slaughter all twelve hundred — if any one of you dares kill even one of them, every person present today will have nine generations of their family wiped out!”

Inwardly, Yin Xin’an was torn beyond measure. Even now, some part of him burned with a desperate urge — to cry out, and let his men fight.

Cut down these twelve hundred Tingwei black riders, then flee Yuzhou. Run wherever the wind took them — just get out, and figure out the rest later.

And yet he did not dare.

Perhaps because he understood well enough: these five or six thousand private soldiers, even if they somehow killed all twelve hundred black riders, would not see many of their own come out alive.

Besides — he was thinking too much.

If it came to real fighting, the twelve hundred black riders who had ridden directly into the city would certainly suffer losses — but these five or six thousand private soldiers would be slaughtered to the last man as well.

*Clang.*

Somewhere in the crowd, someone threw down their weapon.

Once the first had done it, the rest followed quickly. The crash and clatter of weapons hitting the ground rang out in wave after wave. Within two or three quarters of an hour, every man surrounding the street had thrown down his arms.

“Go to the garrison yourselves. No one is to enter or leave without my order.”

Zhang Tang gave the command, and those men silently dispersed.

He looked toward Yin Xin’an: “Come. Let us go and have a look at your ancestral estate.”

The Yin family was a great clan. Those who had once relocated away from here had not been the entirety of the family — some had remained in Maoyang.

Over the course of nearly two hundred years, the branch of the family that had stayed local had done reasonably well for themselves, running a stone quarrying business in Maoyang and earning considerable money through certain fraudulent practices.

Later, when the branch that had moved to Yanzhou was driven back to Maoyang by the chaos of war, Grand General Tang Pidi had not yet taken Yuzhou City.

Xu Ji had heard that members of the Yin family had returned, and recalled that during his own years of study in Yanzhou, Yin Xin’an had enjoyed some renown as a scholar. He had thus recommended him to Master Wu — Master Wu of the “Warrior Grandmother Fish” school.

At the time, Xu Ji’s thinking had been quite simple… He had to have people of his own.

Young as he was, he already held a fourth-rank post and governed a key provincial seat with dozens of counties under his jurisdiction — his star was, for a time, unrivaled. But he knew he had few trusted confidants. He needed allies.

He had assumed that even if Master Wu found Yin Xin’an to be of some use, he would not give him immediate and significant responsibility.

His plan had been to take Yin Xin’an under his own wing, cultivate and support him gradually — first drawing the Yin family into his camp, then using the Yin family as a bridge to bring in more of Yuzhou’s local gentry clans. Only then could he truly plant his feet firmly in Yuzhou.

What he had not anticipated was that after Master Wu met with Yin Xin’an, he found the man had a great many ideas about governance and civil administration — and more than that, Yuzhou was desperately short of capable men, far too short — and so, trusting in Xu Ji’s judgment, Master Wu had appointed Yin Xin’an directly as Prefect of Dengzhou.

Neither Yin Xin’an nor Xu Ji himself had seen that coming.

And yet, because of it, both the branch of the Yin family that had returned and the branch that had stayed behind suddenly saw a horizon full of possibility.

Now, in the main courtyard of the Yin family estate, at least a thousand people had gathered in the open space. After the family’s return, a number had been sent out to take up official posts — but most had remained at the ancestral home in Maoyang.

This was the Yin family’s stronghold.

Zhang Tang stopped at the entrance to the main hall and did not go in. Instead, he had someone bring him a chair, sat down facing the courtyard, and looked out at the thousand-plus assembled people.

So many people — and yet not a sound.

After a moment, Zhang Tang turned to the Hundred Magistrate of the Tingwei Army beside him: “Go and check on the garrison — make sure everyone has entered… Then put them to death.”

The Hundred Magistrate bowed: “Understood!”

He turned and strode away immediately. Not long after, eight hundred Tingwei black riders moved on the garrison.

Hearing Zhang Tang’s words, Yin Xin’an’s face transformed in an instant. He demanded furiously: “Didn’t you say — so long as I cooperated with you, you wouldn’t kill so many people?!”

Zhang Tang shook his head: “What I said was that if you cooperated, I would petition Prince Ning, and there would be leniency shown. But…”

He looked at Yin Xin’an: “I will not be petitioning Prince Ning.”

All at once, Yin Xin’an understood. He looked at the people gathered in the courtyard, then spun around to face Zhang Tang: “You can’t be — are you planning to exterminate my entire family?!”

Zhang Tang nodded: “This time, you’ve guessed correctly.”

Yin Xin’an’s eyes flew wide open. He let out a roar and lunged at Zhang Tang.

But he had barely thrown himself forward before a Tingwei soldier kicked him off his feet and pinned him to the ground.

Zhang Tang’s voice remained utterly flat: “If I were to petition Prince Ning, Prince Ning would never order the deaths of this many people. Prince Ning is merciful — an act of extermination cannot bear his name. This is nothing but my own decision.”

He waved a hand: “Kill them all here as well.”

The four hundred Tingwei black riders remaining in the courtyard advanced. Crossbows, bows, and long blades.

Yin Xin’an was held pinned to the ground, howling and screaming — yet what good did it do?

Zhang Tang sat there just the same, expressionless, watching the blood run like a river, cold as hoarfrost and unmoved.

*I am Zhang Tang.*

*I know what kind of Zhang Tang I must be.*

—