“Your Highness, if you want to laugh, then produce a genuine smile. If you’re displeased, then directly curse me out—I’ll accept either. Right now, you and I are brothers stirring ladles in the same pot. Speaking in such an ambiguous, neither-yin-nor-yang manner is excessive.”

“Three months ago, why didn’t you take down the earthen hill in one breath? Why did you deliberately give up when you clearly knew you could capture it? We are generals, not politicians. We only consider the battlefield. Other matters are for His Majesty and Prime Minister Fang to consider. I heard that in three days’ time, due to your negligence, your subordinates suffered a thousand casualties. Tell me—why?”

Li Daozong never imagined that the good-natured Yun Ye would actually explode in an instant. Whether in court or in private, such a manner of speaking was inappropriate. But Yun Ye had said it anyway, and shouted it out loud at that. This was far too lacking in propriety. He wanted to argue a few points, but seeing Yun Ye’s reddened eyes, he said resentfully: “Insolent brat!” Then he hurriedly departed. Toward the innocent soldiers who had died, he himself also felt guilt in his heart.

Yun Ye dragged his exhausted body and led his subordinates out of the city, coming outside the walls to report to Li’er. Li’er, sitting beneath a yellow silk parasol, was chatting happily with Cheng Yaojin and the others. Seeing the filthy Yun Ye approach, he beckoned, signaling him to come over.

“Not bad. You understand the principle of making the empty seem full and the full seem empty. After a few more years of tempering, you’ll be able to command great armies. The generals who rose with me—now one by one they’re all getting old. Having them crawl on ice and sleep in snow isn’t right anymore. The Great Tang’s military should be like this—wave after wave of old generals returning to their fields, wave after wave of young people rising up. Only such a Great Tang army can be invincible in battle. You’ve restored face for me. Tell me—what do you want? I’ll grant you anything.”

Old Cheng, Old Niu, and Xu Jingzong were so nervous they couldn’t speak, worried that Yun Ye would propose some untimely condition. Whether requesting the Emperor spare the Crown Prince or requesting the Emperor spare Ansi City’s civilians—either would overturn the dragon’s scales. Proposing such conditions would surely provoke the Emperor’s furious rage.

Yun Ye’s mouth moved several times. Finally, he sighed and said: “This humble subject is utterly exhausted. I request His Majesty permit this humble subject to return to Lingnan to recuperate for a period. My grandmother is in Lingnan and still needs this humble subject’s care. I request His Majesty’s gracious approval.”

Hearing Cheng Yaojin and the others’ heavy breathing, Li’er smiled and said: “Very well. If you can’t harden your heart to do great things, then help me with small matters. I’m unwilling to see Goguryeo ships roaming about the great sea any longer. I’ve cut off all of Goguryeo’s trade routes, yet those damned pirates at sea constantly send supplies to Goguryeo in an endless stream. Listen—I want you to firmly lock Goguryeo, Silla, and Baekje on land. Not a single plank may go to sea. I’ll hand the seal of the Lingnan Navy to you. Handle this matter well within these two years!”

Yun Ye was too lazy to ask why Silla and Baekje, which were both allies, also had to be penned up like pigs. Right now, his mind was full of troubles he couldn’t sort out. Li Chengqian’s fate hung by a thread. Who had time to care if Silla and Baekje’s people died?

Leading the army directly back to the main camp, he ordered the cooks to begin rewarding the soldiers. He himself went directly to his tent, planning to sleep himself to death. Perhaps when he opened his eyes, he’d discover all of this had been a nightmare.

Having won the battle, the military camp was jubilant. With Ansi City gone, everyone could go home. Yun Ye, wearing only shorts, wrapped himself in thick quilts, rolled up like a silkworm with his head also stuffed inside. He’d already instructed Liu Jinbao that unless the Emperor summoned him, even if Li Daozong wanted to fight him, it would have to wait until after he woke up.

Lying in the quilts, he still found no peace. Screams kept coming through his mind—not Zhang Liang’s. That fellow had stopped screaming much these past days. He even knew to hobble over to Yun Ye’s camp kitchen to find something to eat. His luck was good—he could always find a bowl of steaming egg noodles or a bowl of rich beef soup. If his luck was even better, he’d get two stalks of green garlic the cooks had planted in bowls to eat. The Emperor’s punishment was far from over. Zhang Liang was mentally prepared for this.

Yun Ye discovered those screams weren’t coming from outside but from his own brain, like a tape recorder repeating sounds. The screams seemed dry and emotionless.

After getting up and downing an entire jar of wine, things improved greatly. Not only did the screams disappear, he couldn’t even hear his own voice. While he still had his last bit of rationality, he stuffed himself back into the quilts and fell into deep sleep.

He didn’t know how long he’d slept when he was awakened by a warhorse’s neigh. Groaning, all his bones had become sore and soft. His joints felt like they’d grown rust. Enduring severe pain, he straightened his body and called for Liu Jinbao twice. “Marquis, my hands and feet are so weak I can’t put on clothes.” He closed his eyes and waited a while. Seeing no one enter, where had that dog run off to?

Making an effort to open his eyes, he discovered someone standing by the bed. Very familiar. His eyes were a bit blurred. He rubbed them hard twice before seeing clearly—it was Li Chengqian!

It was over. This bastard had ultimately been defeated by the Emperor and even captured alive. It seemed that during the time he’d been sleeping, many things had happened. Could it be he’d also been implicated, and the Emperor had mercifully imprisoned him together with this bastard?

Seeing him standing with hands behind his back, smiling as he looked at him, made Yun Ye angry.

“Why are you standing there? Bring me my clothes. You’re now a prisoner—why are you still putting on the Crown Prince’s airs?”

Li Chengqian tossed over Yun Ye’s clothes, saying: “When have I ever put on airs with you? Your son nearly burned down my residence, yet I laughed it off. Such accusations aren’t your place to make.”

“Fine, settled down now? Where did His Majesty exile you to? If it’s to Yazhou, that would be good. You like being emperor—we’ll start from scratch and build a vast empire on the seas. Let me tell you, the sea is much larger than land. If you can’t be Crown Prince, it’s no great matter. After all, you’re His Majesty’s son. He won’t kill you. That’s capital. Being alive is capital.”

“I’ve discovered several islands growing spices. We’ll start with the spice trade, gradually accumulating capital. When our capital accumulates enough, we’ll go to the distant seas to establish a new country. Oh right, first hand me my pants. Who puts on outer robes before pants?”

Listening to Yun Ye’s endless chatter, Li Chengqian seemed to laugh even more heartily and tossed the pants to Yun Ye.

Looking at Li Chengqian’s smile, Yun Ye also smiled and said: “That’s right. No matter how terrible the environment, we must face it with smiles. But underneath, we must be ruthless. At this time, you’re a phoenix that’s lost its feathers—worse than a chicken. Many people are preparing to harm you. Those who used to fawn over you, those who received your favors—they might be the ones most wanting your life.”

“Even if we brothers have fallen on hard times, we’re not to be bullied by any cats or dogs. As long as we ruthlessly eliminate the lead dog bastards, the methods must be cruel, so that none of them dare harbor inappropriate thoughts again.”

“How many of your guards remain? My guards won’t run. With them here, we needn’t worry about our safety. No, we must formulate a new plan starting now. First tell me—where does His Majesty plan to exile you? Only with a location can we properly make plans. Remote, desolate places can sometimes be full of wealth everywhere. Your Imperial Father just taught me that.”

Li Chengqian rolled his eyes and asked unconvinced: “You’re so certain I can’t prevail against Imperial Father?”

Yun Ye looked Li Chengqian up and down with slanted, contemptuous eyes and said: “It’s not that I look down on you. You plus your father-in-law plus that group of fence-sitting subordinates of yours together still can’t match one hand of His Majesty. As soon as you make a move, His Majesty will pounce like a tiger. Don’t give me that crap about Hou Junji being a famous general. I’m one now too. As soon as His Majesty appears before both armies, the soldiers will pull you down from your horses, bind you up tightly, and deliver you before His Majesty’s horse. By the way, how were you captured by His Majesty? Were you betrayed by subordinates and sent over?”

Li Chengqian plopped down on the edge of the bed and said woodenly: “No one bound me and brought me over. I discovered some things weren’t right and ran over myself. I had no intention of rebelling—I wouldn’t and wouldn’t dare. I only wanted greater power to do more things. The throne—I’ve never harbored such extravagant hopes.”

“But my father-in-law said this was a once-in-a-millennium opportunity. My Imperial Father was trapped by Yang Wanchun at Ansi City. Qigan Chengji was in Youzhou, Feng Shijin in Dengzhou. As long as we blocked the water and land grain supply routes, Imperial Father’s army would scatter like stars. Then we could seize great power without bloodshed. As long as I learned from Imperial Father’s methods and elevated him to Grand Emperor, we could still have father-son affection.”

“Finally, we’d request my maternal uncle Gao Shilian to preside over the great court ceremony. My father-in-law could lead the army from the grasslands into the pass and swiftly pacify the dissatisfied princes. All the dukes on expedition to Goguryeo had families in Chang’an. Under intimidation, they’d obediently accept this reality. Finally, I would ascend the throne in Chang’an.”

“A very good plan. Why did you feel something was wrong?” Yun Ye asked Li Chengqian with a strange smile.

“Screw off! If I’d really done this, even if successful, I’d probably only have the throne left, right? My Imperial Father had Mother Empress accompanying him, yet still suffered for so many years. If I did this, I’d be even more ruthless than Imperial Father—I’d become utterly and completely a solitary man. Moreover, my father-in-law’s power seems a bit too great. This isn’t the behavior of a subject.”

“Not wrong. I, Li Chengqian, want to realize the aspirations in my breast. If paying such a price, I still can’t do it. How would Mother Empress view me? How would Imperial Father view me? How would Qing Que and the others view me? And you—how would you view me? Without you all, this world would truly be utterly meaningless. So I escorted grain supplies directly to the army and stayed with Imperial Father. They surely won’t harbor any treacherous thoughts anymore, right?”

Having heard Li Chengqian’s account, Yun Ye finally exhaled a long breath. This fellow doing this was undoubtedly the best method among all options—the best way to demonstrate his heart. All suspicions would vanish into smoke with this fellow coming to the army. Only doing this would make Li’er slightly awkward.

“Honestly, when Hou Junji proposed this plan, weren’t you even a little bit tempted?” Yun Ye quietly asked by Li Chengqian’s ear.

“How should I put it? There really was one instant when I wanted to do it. Ow! Why are you hitting me?” Li Chengqian clutched his stomach, painfully collapsing on the bed, pretending to look innocent as he asked Yun Ye.