Another ten days passed. The new year had come and gone, yet the units dispatched from Fengzhou still had not managed to intercept the Black Rider unit.
But the Yin family’s rebel troops from Dengzhou had arrived — which forced Fengzhou’s occupants to temporarily set aside the matter of the Black Riders.
Over the course of that month or so, with enemies pressing from both front and back, the Black Rider unit had moved like a nimble dancer threading through a sea of blossoms, never letting a single petal touch them.
One day the unit would head east, and no sooner had the defenses there been arranged than they would reverse course and drive north, marching three to five days until an encirclement seemed all but complete — whereupon they would change direction entirely.
If the enemy chose not to pursue, they would rest in place, standing there with hands outstretched as if to taunt: *Come on, then — come at us!*
As the Yin family’s rebel troops from Dengzhou were nearly at Fengzhou, the forces inside the city had no choice but to pull their attention back from the Black Riders.
And then the unexpected happened — the Black Riders launched an attack.
The troops withdrawing toward Fengzhou were ambushed halfway by the Black Riders. Like a gust of wind, they struck and were gone — and in the wake of that gust, a swath of lives had been swept away.
The Fengzhou rebels erupted in fury and gave chase, but the Black Rider unit had already put a great distance between them — they were the elite of the Tingwei Army’s finest, and the rebels simply could not catch them.
With no other choice, the Fengzhou rebels continued back toward the city. After all, Fengzhou’s affairs took priority above all else.
But barely a day into their march back, the Black Rider unit struck again — appearing as if from nowhere, the same as before, hitting hard and then vanishing.
This happened three times in a row. By the time the Yin family’s rebel troops from Dengzhou had entered Fengzhou, the Fengzhou units still had not returned.
—
Meanwhile, in Yuzhou.
Wu Naiyu, the master overseeing Yuzhou, had just returned from the treasury when a subordinate came rushing up: “Daren — urgent report from Fengzhou.”
Wu Naiyu immediately took the letter and opened it. It was a personal letter from Xie Nanju, the Fengzhou prefectural deputy.
The letter stated that Dengzhou prefect Yin Xin’an had suddenly raised troops in revolt and stormed Fengzhou.
In reality, when the letter was sent, the Dengzhou rebel troops were still nowhere near Fengzhou — Xie Nanju had written ahead to lure the Ning Army troops out of Yuzhou.
The letter went on to describe the sequence of events in detail, saying that Xu Ji — the Xu Daren of Fengzhou — it was unclear whether he had been coerced or had willingly turned traitor, but he had helped the rebels talk their way through Fengzhou’s gates.
At present, rebel forces had seized both Fengzhou and Dengzhou and their seventy or eighty subordinate counties — the whole region was in panic.
Reading this, Wu Naiyu’s expression shifted visibly.
“How many troops do we have available inside Yuzhou?”
He asked immediately.
His subordinate answered: “Inside Yuzhou proper, fewer than five thousand available men.”
Wu Naiyu nodded.
His subordinates anxiously asked: “Daren — should we march on Fengzhou?”
Wu Naiyu took a few steps forward and looked back at them. “Why would we go to Fengzhou? Five thousand men hold Yuzhou — no soldier leaves this city.”
At those words, everyone present stood rooted to the spot.
Wu Naiyu strode forward, speaking as he went: “Pass the order: from this moment on, all troops under Yuzhou’s jurisdiction answer to me alone. Without my command, not one person leaves Yuzhou. Violators will be executed.”
A trusted aide hurried to keep up and murmured quietly: “Daren, but if we do not relieve the siege at Dengzhou and Fengzhou, the rebels will grow strong and eventually attack Yuzhou itself.”
Wu Naiyu said: “That is exactly what they’re hoping for — that I’ll lead troops out of the city.”
The aide thought about this carefully, and at last understood.
Yuzhou’s garrison was only five thousand. If Wu Naiyu took those five thousand elite soldiers and marched to Fengzhou, the rebels might seize the moment to attack Yuzhou from another direction. Dengzhou and Fengzhou were one thing, but if Yuzhou fell, then the great general Tang Pidi would truly have no road back.
—
At the same time, roughly a hundred li from Fengzhou, Zhang Tang’s Tingwei Army Black Riders were resting.
Officer Gu Qixi hurried to Zhang Tang and bowed. “Daren, scouts have just reported back — the Dengzhou rebels have entered Fengzhou.”
Far from showing any anxiety at these words, Zhang Tang actually smiled. “Xu Ji — you haven’t disappointed me.”
He looked toward his carriage, thought for a moment, then gave the order: “Leave the carriage here. Bring me a horse. We ride.”
Gu Qixi immediately asked: “Daren — where are we going?”
A faint smile crept across the corner of Zhang Tang’s mouth, yet even his smile looked faintly sinister.
“We’re going to kill people. That’s what we came here to do. The killing here — leave it to Xu Ji.”
Gu Qixi truly could not understand — Xu Ji was a prisoner right now. What capacity did he have to kill anyone?
Zhang Tang was helped onto horseback by his men. He raised a hand. “Move out!”
The unit set off at once, charging in a southeastern direction. No one knew where the centurion-commander was headed, but they all knew: once he had a target, the slaughter would begin.
—
Inside Fengzhou.
Prefectural deputy Xie Nanju and chief clerk Wang Kaitai led Fengzhou’s civil and military officials to wait at the prefecture gate.
Xu Ji and Yin Ke entered the city at the head of forty thousand Dengzhou rebel troops — the full extent of what the Yin family could muster.
Though this force was hardly elite — they lacked even a uniform set of armor and weapons — forty thousand men marching into a city was still a sight of considerable spectacle.
In front of the prefecture gate, Xu Ji and Yin Ke rode side by side, with Wang Xiaoxiao mounted close behind Xu Ji.
All the way here, she had kept her eyes fixed on him without a moment’s lapse, afraid he might try some trick. But Xu Ji seemed to have truly accepted his fate — he had not caused a single disruption the entire journey, and had even been offering Yin Ke counsel and strategic advice.
Thanks to Xu Ji’s cooperation and guidance, not a single soldier had been lost taking the counties and prefectures along the way to Fengzhou.
Upon meeting them, Prefectural Deputy Xie Nanju stepped forward with a performance of feigned bewilderment: “Daren, what is the meaning of this? Why have you returned with so many troops?”
Xu Ji glanced at Yin Ke. Yin Ke said: “Allow me to explain.”
Xie Nanju continued to play innocent and looked at Yin Ke. “And who might you be?”
“Kill them.”
Yin Ke suddenly roared.
His personal guards did not hesitate for a single breath — they immediately raised their crossbows and began firing in rapid succession at Xie Nanju and the others. Xie Nanju had not remotely anticipated that Yin Ke would strike without warning. Not a single official standing at the prefecture gate was spared — in an instant, they were all brought down by a hail of bolts and arrows.
At the very moment Yin Ke bellowed “kill them,” Xu Ji leaped from his horse and sprinted into the mass of soldiers.
In the sudden chaos, even Wang Xiaoxiao could not react in time. By the time she reached for him, Xu Ji had already vanished behind the mounted soldiers.
Yin Ke had already turned toward Wang Xiaoxiao: “Shoot her dead!”
His men immediately swung their crossbows toward her — Wang Xiaoxiao no longer had any chance of reaching Xu Ji, and had no choice but to leap and spring up onto a nearby rooftop.
Xu Ji emerged from behind the crowd and said urgently to Yin Ke: “Now — move immediately to surround and destroy every noble family and prominent clan in the city. Especially the Xie and Wang families. Give them no chance to strike back!”
Yin Ke nodded and shouted the order: “Resisters die!”
The rebel troops immediately spread out across the entire city, and in an instant Fengzhou erupted into fighting everywhere.
Under the protection of his personal guard, Yin Ke entered the prefecture offices.
Xu Ji followed close behind, laughing inwardly. He had been waiting for this day ever since he had figured out why Zhang Tang sent him to Dengzhou.
Inside the main hall, Yin Ke settled into the seat of authority and waited for his men to report back.
He looked toward Xu Ji. “If this succeeds, Xu Daren’s contribution will be beyond measure.”
Xu Ji replied: “I had seen through the schemes of the Xie and Wang families long ago. They wanted to take Fengzhou but didn’t dare move themselves — so they set up this trap to bring your forces here, planning to control you from the shadows. If Prince Ning’s army came quickly, they would claim it had nothing to do with them.”
He allowed himself a trace of satisfaction. “And that is precisely why I chose to ally with Elder Yin. If I had refused them, they would have eliminated me. If I was going to die, I was going to drag them down with me.”
Yin Ke replied: “I know of this affair.”
Then he said: “Where is my son?”
Xu Ji paused, as if caught off guard, then sighed. “He has most likely been killed.”
Yin Ke shot to his feet: “Pass the order — not a single member of the Xie or Wang families is to be left alive!”
—
In truth, Xu Ji had never had the opportunity for a real conversation with Yin Ke while in Dengzhou — Wang Xiaoxiao was at his side at all times.
Yet Xu Ji had found a way. When Wang Xiaoxiao stepped out one day, he used the blood from the skin he had scraped off his own wrist to write a message on the inner lining of his cloak.
When Wang Xiaoxiao accompanied him on a second visit to Yin Ke, Xu Ji deliberately removed his cloak as he was leaving, and when an Yin family servant took it from him, Xu Ji pressed the servant’s hand firmly, then glanced pointedly at the cloak.
The servant immediately sensed something was wrong. At dinnertime, he slipped quietly out and turned the cloak over to look inside.
After that, Xu Ji never again made any deliberate effort to contact Yin Ke’s people — so as not to arouse suspicion.
Then, once they were at Fengzhou and amid the confusion of entering the city, Xu Ji found his moment and spoke a single line to Yin Ke: *If you don’t act now, you will all die.*
Yin Ke cared nothing about whether the Xie and Wang families and the other Fengzhou clans had truly intended to harm him.
He simply needed to take Fengzhou.
And to take a great city, killing to establish authority was always the first step. With Xu Ji’s words to guide him, he would kill more.
Battles broke out across the city. Fengzhou’s garrison had already had a portion drawn away by Zhang Tang’s Black Riders, and the remaining forces inside were no match for the Yin family’s rebel troops — they were soon driven onto the back foot.
Xu Ji stood in the courtyard of the prefecture offices and let out a long, slow breath.
If he had been killed by the Yin family’s rebels at this very moment, he, Xu Ji, would at least have done everything within his power.
Were the Yin family’s rebel troops not a pawn in those people’s eyes? Then let that pawn grow fangs — and bite back, hard.
Zhang Tang had wanted him to push the two rebel factions into fighting each other. Now that this plan had succeeded, what would come next would be a matter of providence.
What was providence?
Prince Ning’s will.
Xu Ji thought to himself — Prince Ning must surely have his own plans for what comes next.
The fighting inside the city lasted a full day and night. Fengzhou’s garrison forces could not hold, and after losing at least seven or eight thousand men, they had no choice but to retreat from the city.
With the garrison gone, the Yin family’s rebel troops began a rampage through the city.
Inside the inn, Gui Yuanshu and his men stood at the second-floor window watching the carnage below, and every one of them felt a heaviness settle over their hearts.
“Is this the plan?” Gui Yuanshu murmured to himself.
He looked at his men: “Then what comes next is up to us.”
—
Ten days later. Dengzhou.
The rebel forces had marched out en masse, leaving few men behind to hold the city. At this moment, inside the Yin family’s great manor, Zhang Tang walked into the courtyard and stopped at its center. A subordinate quickly brought a chair and set it behind him.
Zhang Tang exhaled slowly, settled into the chair, and raised a hand in a light, unhurried gesture.
“Go kill them,” he said quietly. “We have more ground to cover tomorrow — make the most of tonight.”
The Black Riders fanned out in every direction.
Less than a hundred li from Dengzhou.
Wang Dangzhi’s face was dark with fury. He looked at his men and said: “Xu Ji cost us Fengzhou — then we’ll take Dengzhou. Those Black Riders have already entered the city, haven’t they? Surely they won’t dare cause more trouble now.”
He swept his arm forward: “March on Dengzhou!”
—