In an instant, the armored soldiers in the room and half the Wei generals all rushed forward to capture Xiao Li.
Crossbow arrows in this chaos could easily injure their own people if not careful, and thus temporarily became useless.
Xiao Li pressed down on seven or eight long spears thrusting toward him with one arm, forcing those armored soldiers gripping the spear shafts to retreat repeatedly with fierce expressions. With another forceful snap, the spear shafts under his elbow all broke in unison, and those armored soldiers also tumbled to the ground.
The sharp sound of iron chains scraping came from behind. Xiao Li turned his head—two iron chains had already whipped around and entangled his legs, and several Wei generals also rushed over with raised blades to hack at him.
Yuan Fang shouted loudly beside Wei Qishan: “You must not harm Lord Xiao’s life!”
Xiao Li was entangled by those several Wei generals and had no time to deal with the iron chains wrapped around his legs. With a kick, he kicked up a steel blade from the ground to first deal with those several Wei generals.
The several armored soldiers opposite, however, exerted all their strength to pull the iron chains wrapped around his legs, seeming to want to drag him to the ground and capture him alive.
While Xiao Li was entangled in combat with the Wei generals, his movements were restricted by one side’s armored soldiers pulling him. He ferociously raised his eyes to sweep over them, frightening the opposing armored soldiers until they all showed panic on their faces. He exerted force with his feet and stomped hard, reversing the pull so that the opposing armored soldiers gripping the iron chains staggered and fell forward to the ground.
The assembled Wei generals surrounding Wei Qishan watched with aching teeth.
Previously they only knew of Xiao Li’s many war achievements and Liao Jiang’s praise of Xiao Li, originally thinking it was exaggeration. Today, truly engaging him in combat, they finally knew this title of “Overlord Reborn” was absolutely not groundless rumor.
Seeing the assembled armored soldiers and Wei generals all unable to capture Xiao Li, Wei Qishan’s face grew increasingly ugly. He said coldly: “Lower the steel net.”
Several armored soldiers who received his order immediately ran to the four pillars in the room and severed the steel net above that had been pulled taut with ox-tendon rope as thick as two fingers.
The heavy steel net crashed down, trapping Xiao Li and many Wei generals and armored soldiers together within it. Unable to break free for the moment, the armored soldiers on the outer ring finally approached with long spears, thrusting the spears through gaps in the steel net to firmly pin down Xiao Li’s hands and feet.
But even so, Xiao Li still savagely broke several long spears.
Yuan Fang, fearing they would injure Xiao Li, stepped forward before Wei Qishan could speak again and made a cut on Xiao Li’s hand with a dagger soaked in anesthetic. Facing Xiao Li’s cold, angry gaze, he shamefully lowered his head, only saying: “I’m doing this for your own good, benefactor.”
The anesthetic quickly took effect. Xiao Li’s body slowly became numb, and the destructive power when struggling was no longer as fierce as before. The armored soldiers finally succeeded in restraining him.
All the Wei generals unanimously breathed a heavy sigh of relief, raising their hands to wipe the cold sweat from their foreheads.
This was truly more perilous than hunting a fierce beast.
A Wei general stepped forward to ask Wei Qishan how to deal with Xiao Li. Wei Qishan coldly ordered: “Imprison him in the dungeon.”
The armored soldiers below dragged Xiao Li away. Yuan Fang once again cupped his fists and half-knelt before Wei Qishan, earnestly saying: “My lord, let this general go persuade Lord Xiao again. If he has developed resentment toward you because those two thousand soldiers died unjustly, this general will explain to him your difficulties, my lord.”
But Wei Qishan seemed truly angered. He heavily slapped the table, his face cold and gloomy. After a bout of coughing due to excessive emotion, he said coldly: “I have indulged this person too much, making him proud and arrogant due to his talents. Lock him up for a while. This matter will be discussed later.”
Yuan Fang still wanted to continue pleading, but Wei Qishan had already coldly waved his hand with a hard expression, indicating Yuan Fang should withdraw.
Yuan Fang saw he was still forcibly suppressing his cough and also knew he had truly become furious today. This was not a good opportunity to persuade him, so he could only first cup his fists and withdraw.
Only after Yuan Fang had withdrawn far away did Wei Qishan’s constant attendant Wei Xian help Wei Qishan calm his breathing: “Any fierce weapon needs to be slowly tempered. Why must my lord become so furious?”
Wei Qishan coughed violently for a while. The handkerchief covering his lips showed blood. Wei Xian’s expression became panicked and he was about to fetch the manor physician, but was stopped by him: “It’s an old ailment. I won’t die yet.”
After coughing up that mouthful of bloody phlegm, he finally stopped coughing, but his expression remained cold and gloomy: “He dared to be so arrogant today because he calculated that this Marquis cannot move against him now. Let’s first grind down his sharp edges for a while.”
Wei Xian said: “Since my lord already has a method to deal with him, why still be angry?”
Wei Qishan’s gaze fell on the scroll that had been collected to the corner of the table. He said coldly: “What this Marquis has given him, compared to the Liang camp, I believe is only more, not less. If he remembered his former lord, that would be one thing, but he even dared to criticize this Marquis for treating subordinates unfairly! Has he forgotten that the Liang camp merely suspected he was a spy and used poisoned arrows to injure him, nearly taking his life?”
Wei Xian thought for a moment and said: “This Lord Xiao comes from humble origins. The Tongzhou army under him consists of volunteer bandits and rebels he gathered from various counties in Tongzhou. Compared to those military generals from aristocratic families, he naturally values loyalty and righteousness toward his subordinates more. The Liang camp injured only him—with that Princess Hanyang’s eloquence which excels at bewitching people’s hearts, perhaps a few words could deceive him again. But my lord wanted him to bow his head, suppressing the Wolf Cavalry and not letting them move, only making the volunteer army rush back and forth on the Yanle Mountain defense line, resulting in so many volunteer army deaths. This doesn’t concern his life alone. His temperament is also stubborn, so he simply cannot let it pass on behalf of his subordinate soldiers.”
Wei Qishan’s face suddenly turned cold: “You also think this is this Marquis’s fault?”
Wei Xian lowered his head: “This old servant does not mean that—only feels it’s a pity. My lord’s original intention was to admonish him a bit. As long as Lord Xiao directly stated he couldn’t hold Yanle Mountain, my lord could use that as an excuse to reprimand him. This would both temporarily suppress Lord Xiao’s arrogance and appease some old generals’ secret resentment about him standing out too much. Moreover, it would also save some face for the Young Lord. But who could have predicted his temperament was so upright? He stubbornly persisted, ultimately falling into such resentment with my lord.”
He sighed: “But this person’s army doesn’t even have the warhorses allocated to the Wolf Cavalry. Relying solely on that group of volunteer soldiers gathered from various places, he could forcibly withstand tactics from the barbarians that even the Wolf Cavalry might not necessarily be able to handle—this is sufficient to prove his achievements in military command. After my lord’s anger subsides somewhat, send someone to persuade him kindly again. It would be a pity to kill this person. If we release him back to the Liang camp, that would truly be adding wings to a tiger for the Liang camp.”
He also seemed to understand another layer of reason for Wei Qishan’s fury toward Xiao Li, saying: “This old servant knows my lord was hurt by his words. But although my lord seeks the shadow of the eldest son in him, you haven’t truly treated him as the eldest son, have you? Lord Xiao had one thing right—my lord and he are ultimately sovereign and subject, not father and son. My lord should understand this best.”
Wei Qishan’s expression became somewhat deep: “Precisely because I understand, I don’t know how to place this person.”
He said: “While I’m still alive, I can still suppress him somewhat. After I’m gone, if I leave him in the Wei camp, can that unworthy son suppress him?”
Wei Xian hastily said: “The manor physician said that your body, once spring arrives and it warms up, will naturally improve.”
An itch surged up Wei Qishan’s throat again. He covered his mouth with his hand and coughed twice in suppression, then didn’t continue this topic, saying: “Summon Liao Jiang and the others. Hanyang has already broken through Ziyang Pass. Pei Song’s days are numbered. Our Northern Wei cannot allow what happened thirty-five years ago to repeat itself.”
—
On the third day of Xiao Li’s imprisonment, coinciding with Wei Pingjin’s wedding, the matter of him being slandered as a spy and captured somehow spread. For a time, hearts fluctuated up and down throughout the army.
The volunteer army soldiers were especially indignant. The great army directly pressed to the outskirts of Weizhou. Led by Song Qin and Zheng Hu, all the generals made white silk into banners with the volunteer army soldiers’ personally written names, erected them outside the city gates to curse and demand Weizhou release him.
Many soldiers didn’t recognize a single character and couldn’t write their own names—what appeared on the white cloth were densely packed bloody fingerprints.
Looking at that white cloth from afar was quite shocking to the eyes.
On that day, extremely many guests came to attend the banquet. This matter became so large it naturally couldn’t be suppressed.
Several times people were sent from the city to disperse them, but the besieging force was nearly thirty thousand soldiers. Once battle commenced, although Northern Wei had the trump card of the Wolf Cavalry, internal strife at this critical juncture would absolutely severely damage their vitality.
The volunteer army also refused to yield in the slightest, instead cursing more fiercely.
Zheng Hu nearly pointed at the noses of the Wei army on the city tower to curse them as ungrateful and treacherous.
The Wei army sent to disperse them had no choice but to continue sending messages back to the Wei manor.
On the surface, the Wei manor was lit with lanterns and festoons everywhere, hung throughout with red silk, a scene of jubilation. But today’s banquet guests all already knew of Xiao Li’s capture and the volunteer army besieging the city to demand his release. Only in front of Wei Qishan did each of them play dumb, continuing to maintain this scene of joyful harmony.
After the bride and groom bowed to heaven and earth, Wei Qishan with an unchanged expression finished congratulating the assembled guests. Only when he turned to listen to the close guard’s report and walked back did his expression turn gloomy.
Wei Qishan summoned his many trusted confidants. Yuan Fang and Liao Jiang were also among them.
A Wei general said: “Those volunteer troops dare to be so arrogant—there must be generals inciting them to act this way. If you ask me, why not kill the chicken to warn the monkeys and kill all the generals in the volunteer army? Those mud-legged peasants will then know their place!”
Yuan Fang said coldly: “Your meaning is to directly engage in battle with those thirty thousand volunteer troops outside the city? The barbarians outside the Yanle Mountain defense line have only quieted for a few days after Lord Xiao destroyed one of their forces and are seeking another opportunity to attack. Pei Song was attacked through Ziyang Pass by Princess Hanyang. My lord just summoned all generals the day before yesterday to formulate plans to attack Pei Song from the south. To engage in civil war at this time—what are your intentions?”
The other party severely refuted Yuan Fang: “Those miscellaneous troops besieging the city have already trampled my lord’s face into the ground. Should we just allow them to be so arrogant?”
Yuan Fang, thinking about how the situation had developed to this point, was also at his wit’s end and shouted: “I said long ago we should persuade him kindly!”
The other party mocked coldly: “If you, General Yuan, can persuade them, by all means go outside the city and try!”
Liao Jiang shouted: “What’s the point of arguing? The most important thing right now is to first persuade the volunteer army outside the city to retreat. A great battle with the Pei army is imminent—we absolutely cannot first engage in civil war and damage morale.”
That Wei general said: “Clearly it was him, Xiao Li, who harbored Hanyang and was disloyal to my lord first! Such a disloyal and unrighteous person—executing him publicly would not be excessive. Any volunteer soldiers who continue to cause trouble should all be tried for treason!”
Yuan Fang said urgently: “That he, Xiao Li, has loyalty to his former lord is true, but this precisely proves he is someone who greatly values loyalty and righteousness! He also did not directly let Hanyang go. Rather, he allowed my lord to order me to take the person away. Doesn’t this prove he also has loyalty to my lord? If we truly weigh merits and faults, the merits he has established have long offset this fault!”
That Wei general shouted: “General Yuan! You repeatedly shield that person surnamed Xiao—for the sake of one life-saving grace, have you even cast aside your loyalty to my lord?”
Yuan Fang glanced at Wei Qishan, who stood with his hands behind his back facing away from them, and said with a troubled expression: “If I were shielding Lord Xiao, I would not have truthfully identified him when my lord showed me Princess Hanyang’s portrait and asked me.”
That Wei general snorted coldly and shouted: “In my view! That person surnamed Xiao is arrogant due to his achievements—he should be killed!”
Yuan Fang warned: “If you kill him with your front foot, those thirty thousand volunteer troops will rebel with their back foot!”
“Doesn’t this precisely prove that Xiao Li has long harbored rebellious intentions? His subordinate thirty thousand volunteer troops do not obey my lord, the commander-in-chief, but instead obey him absolutely. If we don’t kill this person, shall we keep him to nurture into a great calamity?”
“You!” Yuan Fang was extremely angry, his jaw clenched tight. Finally, he only knelt toward Wei Qishan: “If my lord truly must kill Lord Xiao, then chop off this general’s head together with his. This life of mine was saved by Lord Xiao. It was also this general who earnestly invited Lord Xiao to come to the northern border. All the blame lies with this general.”
Wei Qishan turned his head to look at Yuan Fang. His temples, combed meticulously with hair oil, were mottled with silver threads.
He stared at his most beloved great general and asked: “Are you threatening this Marquis?”
Yuan Fang kowtowed, his eyes burning red: “This general only wishes to preserve both loyalty and righteousness.”
—
The small guard respectfully opened the iron-cast prison door. Liao Jiang carried two jugs of wine into the dungeon. Borrowing a bit of light streaming in from the skylight window, he saw the person wearing heavy iron shackles on both hands and feet, eyes closed as if in meditation, and smiled: “They really are treating you like some fierce beast to imprison.”
In weather cold enough to turn dripping water to ice, after Xiao Li was imprisoned in the dungeon, the clothing on his body had not been touched. He lifted a pair of cold, heavy long eyes and looked at Liao Jiang standing outside the iron-cast prison bars, only saying: “For General Liao to personally come—what a rare guest indeed.”
Liao Jiang twirled a blade of withered grass from the ground and smiled: “Not bad—the straw pile is newly changed, not those moldy rotten things from before.”
Below the prison door was a square opening of moderate size, used for delivering meals daily.
Liao Jiang passed one jug of wine through that small opening, then peeled open the oil paper seal on the jug in his own hands, saying: “Old Yuan asked me to bring this to you. He said he invited you to drink the Young Lord’s wedding wine—no matter what, you must drink this wine.”
Xiao Li said not a word, only tore open the wine seal, grabbed the jug’s edge, tilted his head back and took a fierce gulp.
Liao Jiang smiled: “You’re not even afraid this wine might be poisoned.”
Xiao Li only said: “If Marquis Wei wanted to kill me, he wouldn’t need such tricks.”
Liao Jiang then laughed, embracing the wine jug and drinking two mouthfuls, hissing as he said it was good wine.
As the wine entered his throat, it was like a fierce fire burning from the throat all the way into his heart. His entire person warmed up.
Some words seemed to become easier to speak.
He said: “Don’t blame Old Yuan. The years he’s followed beside my lord are not much less than mine. The loyalty he should fulfill for my lord, he must always fulfill. But to plead for you, he has now also angered my lord and gotten himself implicated.”
Xiao Li seemed to furrow his brow slightly and said: “Tell General Yuan there’s no need to plead for me.”
He lowered his eyes to look at the wine jug in his hands, his voice cold and heavy: “He has his loyalty and righteousness. I have never blamed him.”
From the moment he decided to protect Wen Yu, he knew he would inevitably have a day when his actions were exposed.
Liao Jiang sighed and said: “But his loyalty and righteousness need you to fulfill them.”
Xiao Li did not speak.
Liao Jiang continued: “Apologize to my lord. You should know my lord greatly appreciates you. But he is ultimately the Marquis. Some things, even if he was wrong, he cannot lower his head about. Do you understand?”
“My lord can overlook your concealment of Hanyang’s identity. That so many soldiers under your command died was also not my lord’s original intention. My lord’s original purpose in having the volunteer army support Yanle Mountain was only that your reputation was excessive and you were disrespectful to the Young Lord, causing many old generals who support the Wei clan to be dissatisfied. To appease all sides’ resentment and also to allow you to better integrate into the Wei camp, my lord wanted to use this as an excuse to admonish you. Many things in this world are not simply black and white. My lord controls the entire northern border—he also has many times when he has no choice.”