“This time, the allied forces of the Great Zhou and the Yan Kingdom are joining forces to attack the Tianfeng Kingdom. If the Great Zhou truly dares to deploy all their forces, the Yan Kingdom must certainly be doing the same! Since the Great Zhou and Yan Kingdoms have witnessed the power of the elephant army, they understand… once war truly begins, they must annihilate most of Tianfeng Kingdom’s elephant army in one battle, or there will be endless future troubles!” Yun Poxing put down the iron tongs in his hand and looked up at Li Tianjiao. “So I bet that this time Great Zhou and Great Yan will use all their strength to strangle Tianfeng Kingdom’s giant elephants, and Pingyang City must be empty!”
“Then, Father’s meaning… is for us to follow Bai Qingyan’s deployment and set up an ambush north of the Dan River south of Han Wenshan?” Yun Lingzhi asked.
Before Yun Poxing could answer, Li Tianjiao said: “Are our only choices to submit? Either to the Great Zhou… or to the Yan Kingdom, or be bullied by the Tianfeng Kingdom? Why must we be so pathetic?”
Yun Lingzhi glanced at Yun Poxing and respectfully asked: “What does Your Majesty mean?”
“If Great Zhou and Yan Kingdom truly deploy all their forces, instead of following Great Zhou’s deployment and submitting passively from now on, why can’t we attack Pingyang City and capture Bai Qingyan alive?”
Yun Tian’ao also looked at his grandfather with surprise.
“It’s not so easy for the Great Zhou and the Yan Kingdom to defeat the elephant army. Those giant beasts armed to their hooves… even if Great Zhou and Yan Kingdom win, it will be a pyrrhic victory!” Li Tianjiao extended her hands to warm them by the fire, lowering her gaze to stare at the dancing flames. “Let Tianfeng Kingdom and Great Zhou fight, let them both suffer losses! And without Tianfeng Kingdom’s elephant army as support for Li Tianyu, if we capture Great Zhou’s Empress Bai Qingyan alive, the Western Liang forces that originally chose to submit to Li Tianyu due to Tianfeng Kingdom’s intimidation… will turn around and return to our command! The Western Liang forces that were already secretly supporting us can openly return.”
Yun Poxing straightened up. Li Tianjiao’s words were not without reason!
Without the intimidation of Tianfeng Kingdom’s elephant army, Li Tianyu would amount to nothing. Those Western Liang families who had been forced or voluntarily submitted to Li Tianyu, seeing Li Tianjiao leading the Huoyun Army to capture Bai Qingyan alive, would surely submit again under Li Tianjiao’s feet, because Western Liang people were unwilling to let Western Liang become a vassal state of another Kingdom.
“But the premise of all this is that Great Zhou truly deploys all their forces, and Pingyang City truly has few garrison troops left.” Yun Lingzhi said.
Although Yun Lingzhi still had concerns, he had to admit that Li Tianjiao’s method was the way to resolve their current predicament… and minimize the Huoyun Army’s losses.
Earlier, when Li Tianjiao had sent Li Zhijie to Pingyang City to meet Bai Qingyan, Yun Poxing had already decided that if his Majesty truly wanted to submit to Great Zhou after Great Zhou drove back Tianfeng Kingdom and Western Liang returned to peace, he would die for his Kingdom to maintain national dignity.
So, although he was worried about Li Tianjiao’s plan today, he was very willing to support it.
“I’ve already sent someone to investigate. They should return soon!” Li Zhijie said.
Li Tianjiao turned to look at Li Zhijie, rare tenderness in her eyes. Her gaze swept over the space under the fur where Li Zhijie’s leg should have been, her eyes reddening: “Prince Yan has truly suffered for Western Liang!”
Li Zhijie shook his head: “As a member of Western Liang’s royal family, whatever Li Zhijie does for the late emperor, for the Empress Dowager… for Your Majesty, is all in service to the family, and it’s all as it should be!”
“We are all Western Liang royalty, yet my sister… would put all of Western Liang in a place of eternal damnation for a eunuch!” Li Tianjiao thought of her sister Li Tianyu, her eyes heavy with mist. She let out a long breath and said, “This time, as long as we can retake Western Liang, I will never be soft-hearted toward Li Tianyu again. I’ll act as if… I never had this sister!”
Although matters concerning Li Tianyu were state affairs… and also Li Tianjiao’s family affairs, neither Li Zhijie nor Yun Poxing could interject.
“Let’s wait!” Li Zhijie spoke first. “Once the guard sent to investigate whether Great Zhou has deployed all their forces returns, Your Majesty will know how to arrange the next step!”
Li Tianjiao nodded, instructed Li Zhijie to rest well, then left Li Zhijie’s cave first. She also sent people to watch Yan Kingdom’s military camp—if Yan forces had troops heading to Pingyang City, they must report…
The pain had already soaked Li Zhijie’s back with sweat, not to mention the psychological… difficulty accepting the loss of a leg, the fatigue and weakness from excessive blood loss, and waves of dizziness that made him want to lie down. But he forced himself to hold on. He understood that when the soldier sent to investigate whether Great Zhou had deployed all their forces returned, it would be time to decide Western Liang’s future… whether to submit to Great Zhou or fight desperately.
Li Zhijie dared not collapse, nor did he have the extra energy to feel sorry for himself.
Time passed minute by minute. Just as the sky was about to darken, the soldier Li Zhijie had been sent to investigate Great Zhou’s forces, finally returned on horseback.
Li Zhijie heard that the soldier had been taken directly to Li Tianjiao and was immediately ordered to be carried over as well.
When Li Zhijie arrived, he heard the soldier telling Li Tianjiao: “This subordinate crouched in the snow for a long time, watching the military camp empty out, with only soldiers guarding the camp remaining. Then I returned to Pingyang City, claiming that Prince Yan had left something behind and sent me to retrieve it. After looking around, apart from the few hundred soldiers defending the city, there were no extra forces in Pingyang City at all.”
Candlelight flickered in the cave, and the charcoal fire in the brazier made crackling sounds.
Li Tianjiao clenched her fists tightly: “Bai Qingyan also knows that the war cannot drag past winter, so this time she wants to fight with full force to drive Tianfeng Kingdom back beyond the snowy mountains!”
After speaking, Li Tianjiao raised her head, her eyes bright and resolute: “After Great Zhou and Yan Kingdom use all their strength to drive Tianfeng Kingdom away this time, the next step should be to divide Western Liang. We Western Liang absolutely cannot sit and wait for death! Send people to watch the movements at Pingdu City. Once the Great Zhou and Yan Kingdoms attack the city, while the Great Zhou and Yan Kingdoms are entangled with the Tianfeng Kingdom, we Western Liang must seize Pingyang City in one stroke and capture Bai Qingyan alive! General Yun will lead the troops!”
Hearing Li Tianjiao’s words, Yun Poxing gritted his teeth and decided to risk his life for Western Liang’s future, shouting: “Have the soldiers prepare!”
“Grandfather, as long as we can capture Bai Qingyan alive, the soldiers who sided with the traitor Li Tianyu will support Your Majesty, right?” Yun Tian’ao gripped the sword at his waist tightly.
Yun Poxing nodded: “Naturally!”
Yun Tian’ao clasped his hands and knelt on one knee, looking up at Yun Poxing: “Your grandson dares to be the vanguard, to capture Bai Qingyan alive for Your Majesty and avenge my uncle!”
Hearing his grandson mention his eldest son, Yun Poxing’s eyes reddened as he helped Yun Tian’ao up: “Good child!”
Sa’er Khan stood atop the city wall. Seeing that Great Zhou soldiers had surrounded Pingdu City but showed no intention of attacking, he dispatched a Tianfeng Kingdom soldier who spoke the elegant language well to ride a giant elephant out of the city to request an audience with Great Zhou’s commanding general.