“The casualties among the soldiers aren’t severe, but many have injuries to their hands, feet, faces, and ears. Those who suffered frostbite before are especially prone to getting frostbitten again this time. The military physicians’ method of treatment is still to amputate hands and feet. Marquis Yun, do you have any other methods? If this continues, even His Majesty will have his toes removed. When the great army returns victorious to the capital, it will look terrible if everyone is disabled.”
Duan Hong was not a talkative person, but upon seeing Yun Ye, he couldn’t help but share some confidential matters, especially regarding the Emperor’s injuries—the kind of thing one normally wouldn’t tell others.
In truth, Yun Ye was somewhat afraid of meeting the Emperor. He hesitated at the entrance to the grand tent, and only after Duan Hong’s repeated urging did he finally walk inside. Cheng Yaojin and the others were guarding the entrance, while Zhang Liang was kneeling in the mud with his hands bound behind his back, awaiting the Emperor’s judgment. When he had arrived, he had been filled with righteous indignation, wanting to question Li Er, but once he reached the military camp, all his heroic spirit vanished without a trace. His legs shook like he was playing a lute. He had insisted that Yun Ye bind him up, and when they reached the entrance to the Emperor’s golden tent, he could no longer hold on. His legs went soft and he collapsed into the mud, even burying his head in the muck.
Yun Ye was certain that Zhang Liang wasn’t afraid of death—someone who had survived hundreds of battles would be too ridiculous if he still feared death. It was just that after being under Li Er’s imposing authority for so long, that sense of dread had long been ingrained in him. The closer he got to Li Er, the heavier that sense of fear became.
Upon entering the golden tent, Yun Ye saw Li Er with one leg propped up, sitting by the brazier warming his foot. A palace maid was using a jade backscratcher to gently scratch an itch for him. The outer side of his foot sole had a large patch of dark red. Perhaps the maid had scratched a particularly itchy spot, causing him to grimace and suck in a sharp breath of air.
When Li Er saw Yun Ye walk in carrying a large bundle, before Yun Ye could even pay his respects, he said angrily, “What a bunch of worthless bastards! I’m fighting in this freezing hell, while all of you ran far away to enjoy yourselves. Well, at least knowing you’ve come shows your conscience hasn’t been eaten by dogs. But where is that beast Qing Que? Why don’t I see him?”
After rising, Yun Ye shooed away the palace maid and carefully examined Li Er’s foot, saying, “It’s not too bad, not serious. As long as you keep it warm, there won’t be any problem.”
He then went to rummage through the bundle he had brought, pulling out a thick stack of wool socks and a pair of brand new boots. Squatting on the ground, he helped Li Er put on the socks, and feeling that one pair wasn’t enough, he put on another pair before finally helping him into the boots.
Li Er remained silent, allowing Yun Ye to do as he pleased. After the boots were on, he stood up and took a couple of steps, glancing at Yun Ye and saying coolly, “Qing Que was unwilling to come see me?”
“That’s not it. Qing Que developed a psychological illness and shouldn’t travel by boat anymore. If he takes another boat voyage, it might endanger his life, so when he was about to board the ship, I left him behind and brought the fleet to Liaodong myself. All these things were personally prepared by Qing Que. I’ve just presented his filial devotion on Qing Que’s behalf.”
Yun Ye not only explained why Li Tai hadn’t come but also carefully described to Li Er the psychological pressure that prolonged sea voyages placed on people, and recounted in detail Li Tai’s previous episode of illness.
Upon hearing that Li Tai was ill, Li Er’s expression grew tense, but after learning that he would be fine as long as he didn’t take prolonged boat trips, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Not being able to take boats isn’t really a major problem. A boy raised on the yellow earth hasn’t even waded through many puddles—to make him sail the great seas is asking too much of him.”
“Southern boats and northern horses—it has always been so since ancient times. Even when I take a boat, I need the soldiers to cover all the cabin windows so I can’t see the water before I feel comfortable. That Qing Que could accompany you tossing about on the waves and traveling ten thousand li is already commendable. His nature is gentle and sincere. If you hadn’t left him behind, he might have forced himself to come to Liaodong. Though filial piety is important, I won’t have my son’s life used to prove it. Your coming is just as good.”
“Qing Que found the phoenix—he caught seven or eight of them in one go. They’re now being kept in Lingnan, and when the Empress’s birthday comes, he’s planning to give everyone under heaven a surprise.” Seeing that Li Er was in a poor mood, Yun Ye picked pleasant topics to share with him.
The topic of phoenixes indeed piqued Li Er’s interest. He stared at Yun Ye for a long while before saying, “I know you ministers all treat the Empress and me like country bumpkins. You dare to stick gold foil on a pig and present it as a qilin. You’re not doing the same thing, are you? That would really break my and the Empress’s hearts—our own son and son-in-law deceiving us too.”
Although Li Er’s assessment was accurate—the bird of paradise wasn’t truly a phoenix—it was absolutely the most phoenix-like bird in existence. This high-grade counterfeit being compared to a pig stuck with gold foil was what truly hurt Yun Ye’s feelings.
Seeing Yun Ye remain silent with an unhappy expression, Li Er leaned forward and said, “So what I said isn’t true? There really are phoenixes in this world? According to legend, phoenixes gather fragrant wood and immolate themselves every five hundred years, then are reborn magnificently. Do the phoenixes you brought have this ability too?”
Yun Ye squatted back down to rummage through the bundle, saying as he searched, “You don’t believe that nonsense about burning to ash and being reborn either, right? But the phoenixes Qing Que found do indeed like to bathe in flames. Although it’s only for a brief moment, it proves they really do like fire. Their appearance is extremely similar to phoenixes, and they enjoy bathing in fire. Besides calling them phoenixes, the two of us don’t know what else to name these birds.”
Li Er was utterly astonished. That they looked similar was one thing—the world is vast and full of wonders—but liking to bathe in fire made no sense at all. Fear of fire is instinctive in all beasts and birds. If they truly enjoyed bathing in fire, then just as Yun Ye said, aside from calling them phoenixes, one really wouldn’t know how else to name them.
“Your Majesty, you possess all under heaven, but have you ever seen a two-pound pearl like this?” Yun Ye pulled out a brilliantly shining pearl from the bundle and placed it on Li Er’s bed, continuing to search through the bundle.
Li Er glanced at the pearl, impatient with Yun Ye’s treasure presentation one item at a time. He grabbed the bundle and dumped everything onto the bed. He didn’t even look at the gemstones and such. Finally, he picked up a silver box, opened it to see it was divided into several small compartments with a different spice in each, then tossed the box aside saying, “Aside from the phoenix you mentioned that sets my imagination soaring, the rest are just material possessions not worth polluting my eyes with. Treating spices as treasures—how embarrassing.”
“Your Majesty might not care for one or two pounds, but what about hundreds of thousands of pounds per year? Can you still disregard that?” Yun Ye raised his eyebrows.
“Hmm, that does change things. Is this what Qing Que plans to use to support me and his elder brother? Tell me, boy—when others discuss imperial family matters, I would have them beheaded, but not you. You’re also part of the imperial family. What’s your view on the dispute between Chengqian and me?” Li Er picked up the silver box again and carefully admired the spices, even putting nutmeg to his nose to smell it, his mood quite pleased.
“It’s going well. Chengqian is already working hard to prove to you that he’s prepared to inherit the Great Tang Empire. What remains is how you train him. People must suffer setbacks. If Chengqian doesn’t suffer setbacks, he can’t truly grow up. It just depends on how big a setback you plan to let him experience. Hopefully it won’t be too harsh—too harsh and it will extinguish his ambition and determination. Ambition is something that needs careful cultivation. Chengqian finally has some, so you should nurture this little seedling well.”
Such words were best spoken in a casual, familial tone, absolutely not too sharply. The feelings between father and son were strange—sometimes very warm, sometimes very volatile. Whether warm or volatile, it was all love. When outsiders barged in carelessly, it was hard to emerge unscathed. Even Zhangsun Wuji, the uncle, couldn’t manage it, which is why Yun Ye stayed far away and didn’t get involved.
Duan Hong brought over Li Er’s teapot. Li Er took a sip of water and toyed with the large pearl, saying, “That’s a rather unusual perspective. Both history and reality prove that such conflicts are almost impossible to resolve. What makes you think I can control Chengqian until I die? There are many factors involved. Even if Chengqian himself wouldn’t commit great treason, his subordinates would force him to take that step. There are too many uncertain factors. However, your thinking is rather novel—I’ll take it under consideration.”
“How did you capture Zhang Liang? On the open sea, you managed to capture Zhang Liang alive with just three ships. Have you already become the Great Tang’s foremost naval commander?”
Li Er found discussing Li Chengqian with Yun Ye rather boring, so he shifted the topic to Zhang Liang.
“Your Majesty, we actually only exchanged one round of combat before Zhang Liang surrendered. I heard he came here with something to ask Your Majesty. Originally he was quite impassioned, but when he reached the entrance to the grand tent, he turned into a kowtowing insect, his head buried in the mud.”
Li Er laughed and said to Yun Ye, “My imperial majesty is not something that Zhang Liang can defy. Look at the court—how many dare act unrestrained before me? Even Wei Zheng doesn’t dare. Count on your fingers how many counts of great disrespect you’ve committed. When the Empress wanted to give you rewards, I wanted to see you, but you just turned and ran. And that lawless son of yours—when the Crown Princess held a great banquet for guests, just because a servant saw he was young and slighted him, he burned down the stables. Zhang Xingcheng is sixty years old and nearly lost his life when he was trampled by a horse.”
“However, that boy has the Empress protecting him, so no one can do anything about it, including me. When the Empress truly gets angry, good heavens, heaven and earth change color. Zhang Xingcheng was clearly nearly killed by being trampled, yet he insisted on telling others he carelessly twisted his back, not daring to say this was caused by your precious son. The Crown Princess was also going to severely punish that steward and handed him over to the Empress, and then no one ever saw that person again. Boy, tell me—how have the Empress and I treated your Yun family?”
“I naturally remember this affection and gratitude in my heart and will never dare forget it. If Your Majesty has any orders, please give them directly. Yun Ye is your subject—there’s no need to leverage gratitude for repayment, is there?” Yun Ye found Li Er’s reaction strange.
“No, no, these are two different matters. I’ve discovered that when you repay kindness, you always manage things beautifully, but your ability to go through the motions perfunctorily is also first-rate. I’ve always used commanders unconventionally—provoking them, scolding them—these are all methods. Leveraging gratitude for repayment is also one. See that? Anshi City is my place of shame. I’ve been insulted quite badly. You go and take Anshi City for me!”
“Duan Hong, raise Yun Ye’s command flag and tell Yang Wanchun that Yun Ye has arrived!”