When the Commander-in-Chief’s formation appeared on the land, the first thing that caught the eye was the dense array of flags, with the commander’s flag being the most prominent.
Xie Yanlai gazed from his horse, looking at the character “Chu” on the flag.
There was no longer a commander surnamed Chu in the commander’s camp.
Chu Ping was gone, and Chu Zhao was far away in the capital, but the army still maintained the tradition of using the Chu character on the great flag. General Chu Ping had passed away at the battlefront while repelling the Western Liang King, and Chu Zhao, as Empress, had fought alongside everyone. So the soldiers believed that General Chu and the Empress were still with them.
At first, Zhong Changrong wanted to use only the Chu flag, but Chu Zhao disagreed.
“When a person is gone, no matter how formidable they were, they can be replaced,” she said. “Only the living can protect everything.”
Protect.
This girl seemed to have always had an obsession—an obsession with protecting, as if she might lose everything at any moment.
Xie Yanlai fingered the sachet hanging at his waist. The almonds inside had long been eaten, and now it contained a letter Chu Zhao had sent a few days ago. The letter showed none of the Empress’s dignity, cursing this and that—
Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but smile.
Small Mountain, standing beside him, noticed and immediately asked happily: “Young Master is so happy to see General Zhong?” He nodded, “It has been a long time since we’ve seen him. I miss him too.”
Xie Yanlai made an “oh” sound and raised an eyebrow, glancing at him askance: “You miss him? Then you should go with him this time.”
Small Mountain trembled in fear, his smile instantly turning to tears: “Young Master, my heart is only with you.”
Xie Yanlai ignored his profession of loyalty and looked ahead.
The confrontation between the Empress and court officials lately could be seen through the court bulletins. Zhong Changrong had also complained to him that the court officials were bullying A-Zhao—Zhong Changrong was also at fault, sending him private letters mixed with military orders. Wasn’t he afraid of being caught and accused of colluding with the Xie family?
Although from the court bulletins and letters, it seemed the Empress was seizing power, he knew that the girl didn’t want power; she was only afraid.
How pitiful. The more she possessed, the more terrified she became. Unlike him, who had nothing and therefore feared losing nothing.
Seeing Zhong Changrong appear in view, Xie Yanlai put aside his distant thoughts and spurred his horse forward, shouting: “This subordinate Xie Yanlai, with the guerrilla camp, respectfully welcomes the Great General.”
Behind him, the guards standing in the dense forest shouted in unison: “Respectfully welcome the Great General!”
After reviewing the guards, Zhong Changrong led his deputies into the tent, first glancing around at the interior. Seeing the dust-covered floor with scattered weeds, he frowned and shouted: “Xie Yanlai, you’re not guarding Jiezi Pass but running around everywhere!”
Xie Yanlai said: “General, rest assured. No matter where I go, I’ll guard Jiezi Pass securely.”
Since only their people were in the room now, Zhong Changrong didn’t stand on ceremony and asked directly: “Have you been exploring Western Liang territory again?”
Xie Yanlai smiled: “Western Liang soldiers often come to our territory to scout, so naturally I should go over to take a look as well.”
Zhong Changrong pointed at him and said, “You just like to act on your own. I don’t care if you die in Western Liang, but if you lose Jiezi Pass, I’ll have your life.”
Xie Yanlai snorted: “If Jiezi Pass could be lost, we wouldn’t need to fight this war.”
Zhong Changrong glared at him, ignoring his boastful words. He brushed the dust off a chair and sat down. The deputies called to Small Mountain, who was standing behind Xie Yanlai: “Quickly serve tea to the General.” “Small Mountain, do you miss the General? It’s been so long since you’ve seen him.”
Upon hearing the first sentence, Small Mountain turned his head as if he hadn’t heard. Upon hearing the second sentence, he simply turned and left.
The deputies were all taken aback: “Is he going to prepare tea?”
“Who knows what he’s doing?” Xie Yanlai waved his hand, tossing his water bag to Zhong Changrong. “Try this. It’s good tea sent from my home.”
Zhong Changrong caught it, noticing pearls adorning the strap of the water bag, and snorted coldly.
The other deputies didn’t think Xie Yanlai was exaggerating. As a young master of the Xie family, luxurious food, drink, and possessions weren’t surprising.
At this point, guards brought tea for everyone else—Small Mountain had given orders, though he didn’t reappear. The deputies didn’t mind, sitting down to rest and drink tea while discussing.
“How exactly is Western Liang going to fight this war?” one deputy said.
Another deputy corrected: “The question should be whether Western Liang will continue fighting.”
Xie Yanlai sat on the ground and said: “Haste makes waste. The Western Liang King must think this way too, so there’s no need to rush.”
Then he smiled again.
“The Western Liang King has been saving up for a lifetime for this one great battle. This is his only chance in his lifetime. He would rather die than give up here.”
“Then let him persist. We Great Xia aren’t afraid to fight him, so why should we fear his persistence?”
The deputies nodded. “We naturally know this.” “But some people are impatient.” “The supervisor believes that the longer the war lasts, the more we officers seek military achievements.”
Xie Yanlai said, “All supervisors are like this. Don’t mind him. When people come to supervise, they have to say something, otherwise they’d be failing in their position. No matter what he says, we should do what we need to do. What can he do?” At this point, he smiled again. “If he could do something, that wouldn’t be bad either. We could accuse him of seeking military achievements, or even worse, claim he has ulterior motives, that he’s a Western Liang spy or something—”
The deputies listened intently, with some even nodding involuntarily: “Good—”
“What’s good about that!” Zhong Changrong had been listening to Xie Yanlai’s grand opinions and watching the deputies nodding frequently. Hearing this, he couldn’t listen anymore and shouted, “I brought you here to patrol, not to listen to someone’s teachings.”
The deputies laughed but weren’t nervous or flustered. Zhong Changrong and Xie Yanlai always argued when together; they were used to it. Since Xie Yanlai had become a guerrilla general leading troops independently, they even felt a bit unaccustomed.
“Look at your wicked heart,” Zhong Changrong glared at Xie Yanlai. “Is this how one should be a commander? Is this how a commander should act?”
Xie Yanlai let out a “ha” sound: “I’m not the commander! Why should I care how a commander acts? It’s not like I’m the one who’ll suffer.”
Zhong Changrong spat, took a few gulps of tea from the water bag, and stood up: “Let’s go, continue patrolling.”
The commander’s patrol had to move quickly, after all, he couldn’t stay away from the central army for too long.
Xie Yanlai didn’t try to keep him and stood up to see him off.
As Zhong Changrong was about to step out, he hesitated, then finally said to Xie Yanlai: “I won’t confront Supervisor Fu. Let him make trouble on his own. What I want is to guard the border commandery and stop Western Liang. As long as I accomplish this, no one can do anything to me.”
Xie Yanlai whistled: “General Zhong has grown wiser.”
Zhong Changrong glared at him, hung the pearl-adorned water bag that he hadn’t finished drinking from on himself, and strode outside.
Outside, the guards had already reformed their ranks. Xie Yanlai personally escorted him on horseback.
“Tell me,” he suddenly thought of something and said in a low voice beside Zhong Changrong, “does the Western Liang King want to negotiate peace?”
Zhong Changrong sneered: “After fighting like this, he still wants to negotiate peace? Who would negotiate with him? On what grounds would he negotiate?” Then he smiled, “Of course, it’s not impossible to negotiate, but only if the Western Liang King comes to us to admit his guilt, kowtow, and beg for mercy. But that’s not called negotiating peace; it’s called victory. The Western Liang King would no longer be a king but a prisoner.”
Xie Yanlai clapped his hands loudly.
This action drew the attention of the surrounding soldiers and officers.
Zhong Changrong’s dark face reddened slightly, and he glared at Xie Yanlai: “What are you going crazy about!”
Xie Yanlai cupped his hands and said loudly: “General Zhong’s resolve is firm. I congratulate General Zhong on firmly commanding the central army. We shall be fearless and invincible.”
The guards behind them shouted in unison: “Fearless and invincible!”
Zhong Changrong was both annoyed and amused. Like commander, like troops—only Xie Yanlai’s camp would shout such—arrogant—slogans.
He looked at Xie Yanlai once more, then spurred his horse forward and galloped away.
It took two days to travel from Jiezi Pass to Xinggu Pass. By the time Zhong Changrong’s commander’s army saw the pass, a dense formation of troops was already lined up waiting.
A young officer led the way, surrounded by guards, with a presence no less imposing than Xie Yanlai’s—indeed, even more formal than Xie Yanlai’s side.
“This subordinate Liang Qiang, respectfully welcomes the Great General,” the young officer dismounted and saluted.
Zhong Changrong looked down at this young officer from his height. The Liang father and son were truly favored by Deng Yi. After one trip to the capital, Liang Qiang was appointed Guerrilla General, and now Liang Ji wanted to join his central army—
A-Zhao had written to him, worried that he would be marginalized and lose power, telling him to be careful. Zhong Changrong didn’t think A-Zhao was exaggerating, but he didn’t need to be too nervous either. He now had troops, authority, and prestige. As long as he didn’t make major mistakes, no one could replace him.
Of course, he would pay more attention to the Liang father and son.
If he found that they didn’t live up to their reputation, he wouldn’t care how much Deng Yi favored them; he would dismiss them from office.
“General Liang, thank you for your hard work,” he said. “This commander will inspect the main camp.”
Liang Qiang hurriedly made way: “General, please proceed.”
Zhong Changrong walked past the guards and also inspected various parts of the pass. Standing on the city wall, he looked ahead and could faintly see patches of apricot blossom groves in the distance.
“This is the smallest but also very important pass in Yunzhong Commandery,” Zhong Changrong said. “General Liang must not be negligent in the slightest.”
Liang Qiang responded: “This subordinate will not fail the General’s high expectations.”
Zhong Changrong said indifferently: “These aren’t particularly high expectations. If it were up to me, you would be better suited elsewhere.”
These words were quite blunt. Liang Qiang slightly lowered his eyes and said: “Then this subordinate must not fail the General’s expectations even more.”
The young man spoke quite proudly, but his pride was different from Xie Yanlai’s. Xie Yanlai insulted you, fearing you wouldn’t understand, while Young Master Liang was polite—Zhong Changrong snorted inwardly.
“Then this commander will watch with anticipation,” he said, then turned and strode away.
Liang Qiang followed and said: “Soup, tea, and food have been prepared in the fortress ahead. Please, General, rest for a while.”
Zhong Changrong turned his head slightly and asked: “Do you have good tea from the capital?”
Liang Qiang was stunned. Good tea from the capital—how would he have that? Was Zhong Changrong hinting that the Empress rewarded him abundantly and cared for him attentively?
“No,” he shook his head.
Zhong Changrong said: “Then I won’t drink. I still need to continue my journey. I can eat and drink along the way just as well.”
With his words so clear, Liang Qiang didn’t try to keep him and bowed respectfully to see him off.
Behind him, the guards formed ranks and watched as Zhong Changrong’s party rolled away.
The commander’s inspection came hurriedly and left just as quickly, having no impact on the pass. Liang Qiang also resumed his day and night patrols.
Sunrise, sunset, and sunset again. Night enveloped the earth. Standing on the outermost fortress of Xinggu Pass, the wind blowing from the valley gave the thick summer night a touch of cold.
Even in wartime, the day-to-day guard duty was monotonous, and people inevitably engaged in private chats and jokes.
“I heard General Zhong ate and drank at General Xie’s place, but he didn’t even stay a bit longer when he came to our place.”
“So, General Liang and General Zhong are not on the same side.”
“Watch what you’re saying. What do you mean by ‘not on the same side’? General Zhong is the commander; everyone is under him.”
“That’s right. General Zhong stayed at Changping Pass for a day, but he was punishing them for insufficient military preparations. He even had the commander of Changping Pass beaten with the military staff.”
“If that’s the case, General Zhong and the general of Changping Pass are more than just ‘not on the same side’; they’re enemies.”
The guards on duty at the fortress laughed, dispersing the coldness of the night.
A sound came from behind, and a troop of soldiers approached. The guards on duty thought it was the changing of the guard, but as they came closer, they realized—
“General Liang!” they exclaimed in surprise, hurrying forward to greet him. “What brings you here?”
Liang Qiang looked at them and said: “I’ve finished my patrol. It’s too late to return to the city.”
The city where the general was stationed was some distance away, so it wasn’t surprising that he didn’t want to travel at night.
“You go and rest,” Liang Qiang said. “Tonight, I’ll stand guard.”
The guards were surprised and embarrassed: “How could we?” “We should be the ones on duty. General, please go and rest.”
Liang Qiang’s face was expressionless as he simply said: “Go.”
General Liang was courteous but spoke decisively, making it impossible to disobey him. The guards didn’t dare insist and responded with a “yes” before leaving.
“General Liang is so kind.”
“General Liang takes care of his soldiers. Everyone likes him. Look at those soldiers around him; they’re all loyal to him unto death.”
“They say they were all saved by General Liang on the battlefield.”
“I wish I could fight alongside General Liang too.”
Standing on the fortress, listening to the guards’ whispers fade away, Liang Qiang’s lips twitched, as if he was smiling, but he wasn’t smiling, because he had nothing to smile about.
Whether he was good or not was not for him to decide, just like his coming here to guard the pass today was not his arrangement.
Liang Qiang stood on the earthen wall, gazing into the thick darkness ahead, as if he had turned to wood and stone.
After an unknown period, when everything around seemed to have sunk into slumber, Liang Qiang’s vision caught a flickering light.
This was not an illusion.
After so much warfare, he had developed instincts.
The light indeed grew larger, and he even felt a slight tremor underfoot—troops.
A large number of troops.
In the middle of the night, coming from the direction of Apricot Blossom Valley, these were not Great Xia troops—
Liang Qiang tensed up instantly, but the next moment, a guard’s hand pressed on his shoulder.
“General,” he said softly, “don’t move.”