He Shao was already accustomed to such threats. Chai Shao had done the same thing—wasn’t he living just fine now? The wealthy and imposing Mr. He bowed to Li Jing and said that if the soldiers’ money was short by even one wen, the Grand Commander could go directly to his home and take whatever he fancied—even taking his wife wouldn’t matter. The Viscount’s manor was probably worth a few wen—feel free to take it all.
Li Jing looked him up and down several times. He truly couldn’t tell that this fat man reeking of copper was actually a viscount. However, this also set his mind at ease considerably. After the great victory, as long as the soldiers had no complaints, he was too lazy to impose restrictions.
With this battle as foundation, presumably the morale and popular sentiment throughout the Great Tang would become much more confident. The Xueyantuo, Tuyuhun, and Western Turks should behave themselves somewhat. The vast grasslands had become the Great Tang’s horse pastures. All of this was victory he had seized from heaven by cutting through thorns and brambles. Breathing the grassland’s cold air, the urgent messenger with red feathers should have reached Chang’an by now, right? Li Jing thought with no small measure of pride.
In Taiji Palace, Li’er was reviewing memorials. The red cinnabar brush hung suspended in midair for a long time. Only when a drop of bright red cinnabar ink slid down from the brush tip and dripped onto the memorial did he startle with alarm and come back to his senses. Looking at that ink stain, deep red as a bloodstain, he couldn’t help but worry about the grasslands thousands of li away. There, one hundred thousand of the Great Tang’s most elite Guanzhong militia were enduring who knew what torments in the frozen wasteland.
He simply cast aside the brush in his hand and stood on the high palace hall, gazing toward the grasslands. He didn’t doubt Li Jing’s abilities. He didn’t doubt Li Ji’s abilities. He didn’t doubt Zhang Gongjin’s loyalty. Chai Shao was too immersed in hatred—otherwise, having him as Grand Commander would have given him the greatest peace of mind.
Suddenly, his eyes narrowed to slits. Outside Chang’an city, large numbers of crows were circling in midair above the forest, refusing to land. There were many crows around Chang’an. In the dead of winter, when starving, they dared run onto dining tables to compete with people for food. Now they were so frightened they dared not return to their nests, indicating large numbers of people were approaching—very possibly cavalry. The battle-hardened Li’er quickly formed his own judgment.
Looking toward the mountaintop, the beacon fires had not been lit. He was somewhat puzzled. Who had such audacity to dare let soldiers gallop wildly near Chang’an? At his command, agents from the Hundred Cavalry immediately departed swiftly.
The palace guard level immediately increased by two grades. The Chang’an city garrison also received warnings. The soldiers atop the city walls immediately doubled. However, that cavalry unit still did not slow down. The dust they raised could be clearly distinguished even standing atop Chang’an’s city walls.
This was intolerable. Horns sounded above Chang’an city. Soldiers in the main camp, like ants leaving their nest, swiftly responded. People outside the city rapidly entered through the gates, which slowly closed.
The great general guarding the city, Yuchi Jingde, was furiously enraged. During a peaceful time, such an incident occurred and he had known nothing about it—this was truly the shame of his life. He had already decided to properly discipline these audacious wrongdoers.
Standing atop the city wall, Yuchi Jingde saw the leading urgent messenger with red feathers. The bright red helmet plumes were extremely vivid in the dust.
“Only a thousand cavalry.” Yuchi Jingde muttered, then ordered the city gates opened. He descended from the tower, rode alone bearing his staff, and stood before the city gate, awaiting the urgent messenger’s arrival. A thousand cavalry didn’t concern Yuchi Jingde.
Before the urgent messenger with red feathers even arrived, he was already shouting at the top of his lungs: “Great victory, great victory! Yinshan great victory! Our army has won greatly, beheading twenty thousand Turks in battle and capturing countless prisoners!” While shouting, he darted past General Yuchi as if he were nothing.
“Damn it, Li Jing really struck it big this time. He actually took down Xie Li.” He didn’t care about the urgent messenger’s rudeness. In fact, as long as it wasn’t His Majesty the Emperor personally present, these messengers could disregard everyone.
He couldn’t provoke the urgent messenger with red feathers, but why did these bastards behind him also treat him as if he were nothing, even daring to charge the city gate on horseback—tired of living? Just as he was about to rush forward bearing his cavalry lance, he saw the leader was that fellow Hong Cheng. This guy had clearly galloped all the way here. The cavalry formation behind him was also in complete disarray—this wasn’t a combat formation at all. Hong Cheng waved his hand, and the cavalry behind him immediately flowed like a tide along the city wall toward the military camp, leaving only fifty Hundred Cavalry to surge with him toward the city gate.
In an instant, only the solitary General Yuchi prepared to display his might and clouds of dust remained at the city gate. The black steed emerged from the dust. General Yuchi’s crimson cloak was covered in dust. Hearing the earth-shaking cheers from within Chang’an city, he couldn’t help but grin widely and laugh heartily.
The clamor extended from the city gate all the way to the Imperial City. Before long, the guards atop the Imperial City also began cheering. Li’er, fully armored and seated on the imperial throne, released the longsword in his hand, returned it to its stand, lightly patted it twice, and murmured to himself: “The opportunities for me to personally slay enemies are becoming fewer and fewer.”
He then came to the entrance of Taiji Hall, awaiting the victorious news. A palace official on duty was seen lifting the hem of his robe, hurriedly ascending the steps. Before even standing steady, he reported the victory to Li’er: “Congratulations, Your Majesty! Felicitations, Your Majesty! General Li Jing has completely routed the main Turkish army below Yinshan, beheading twenty thousand in battle and capturing countless prisoners.”
“I heard the people’s cheers—this is the most moving sound in the world. I am extremely delighted. Summon the ministers to Taiji Hall to celebrate the great victory together!” Li’er received the document and opened it in the sunlight, greedily wanting to devour every single character.
The White Horse Alliance was the greatest humiliation of Li Shimin’s life. Turkish cavalry rampaged freely across Great Tang soil, slaughtering Great Tang’s people, while he had to humble himself and form an alliance with them at the Wei River, even presenting countless treasures. Every midnight when he thought of it, the sense of shame bit at his heart like venomous snakes.
Now everything had vanished into smoke. The powerful Eastern Turks would never exist again. The pent-up anger in his chest completely dissipated in the afternoon sunlight.
He saw Hong Cheng covered entirely in dust, his eyes rippling with amusement. Still more than ten steps away, Hong Cheng knelt down and advanced on his knees. He was not a minister—he was a house slave. This damn fellow—what good news could make him so excited?
A box wrapped in yellow silk was held high above his head. Li’er didn’t let others handle it. This loyal slave—his entire glory depended on his own trust—would never put him in danger.
The yellow silk was wrapped in many layers. When Li’er lifted the box lid, a crystal-clear jade seal appeared before his eyes. He grabbed the imperial seal. The jade quality was so warm and smooth. Holding it in his hand, it felt extremely comfortable. This was the Imperial Seal of State? This damn talented fellow obtained it from the grasslands?
“Your Majesty, this Imperial Seal of State was found and brought back for you from the grasslands by this old slave. This old slave has verified it—it seems genuine.”
Li’er turned a deaf ear. He didn’t care where this jade seal came from, nor did he care how many people died for it. He only knew this thing was naturally meant to be his. Whoever held it in their hands was courting death.
“When this old slave was about to depart, Your Majesty gave this old slave the diagram for identifying the seal. This old slave has not failed Your Majesty’s trust. After experiencing hardships, he finally found it. During this time, Marquis Lantian Yun Ye helped this old slave considerably.”
Fortunately, Hong Cheng had at least a bit of conscience. He still remembered it was Yun Ye who helped him find the Imperial Seal of State. When claiming credit, he mentioned it in passing. He certainly wouldn’t tell Li’er that his hardships consisted of hiding behind a tent eavesdropping—such hardships indeed.
“Yun Ye? Isn’t he in Shuofang? Didn’t Li Jing’s orders tell him to return to the capital? How did he run to Yinshan again? Does he dare disobey military orders?” Li’er became somewhat angry. As an emperor from a military background, he was most averse to behavior that disobeyed military orders and acted recklessly.
“This old slave begs Your Majesty’s forgiveness. Marquis Lantian was deceived to Yinshan by a forged document. Someone deciphered our army’s secret cipher and forged documents. The Grand Commander issued an order for Marquis Lantian to return to the capital. By the time it reached Marquis Yun, it had become an order for him to report to the Yinshan main camp. So Marquis Yun went to Yinshan.”
Li’er was a veteran soldier—how could he not understand the danger of the secret cipher being deciphered by others? He was greatly alarmed. The joy he had just felt from obtaining the jade seal immediately vanished. Whether or not he had the jade seal wouldn’t make too much difference to him, but the army’s secret cipher being broken—this was a matter of paramount importance.
“Under such circumstances, why did Li Jing still dare dispatch troops? Too imprudent! Who was so audacious?”
“In response to Your Majesty, according to what this old slave knows, the documents were forged by Yetuo of Kangju. He seemed to want to learn something from Marquis Yun. Marquis Yun didn’t speak, and this old slave didn’t dare ask much. However, there is one joyous matter that must be reported to Your Majesty. This old slave has compiled a new set of secret ciphers. Our dynasty’s great army need no longer worry about secret ciphers being deciphered.”
Hong Cheng felt proud thinking of this matter. Tremendous merit indeed! Yun Ye didn’t want it, Li Jing didn’t dare claim it—it fell straight into his own lap. But thinking of Yun Ye’s conditions, Hong Cheng’s heart bled. Five thousand strings of cash—more than half his life’s savings now bore the surname Yun.
Li’er looked down at Hong Cheng, then at the jade seal in his hand, and asked Hong Cheng: “How much money did you spend on this set of secret ciphers?”
Hong Cheng, in the midst of his heartache, answered without thinking: “Five thousand strings! He demanded five thousand strings!” As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized something was wrong and hurriedly prostrated himself to beg forgiveness.
“It’s indeed Yun Ye’s handiwork. I imagine this set of secret ciphers is still trustworthy. Much more reassuring to me than what you compiled. However, won’t all our army’s future secrets be unable to escape his eyes?”
Seeing that Li’er hadn’t become angry, Hong Cheng knew this matter had been glossed over. Hearing Li’er’s question, he deliberately puffed out his chest and said: “Your Majesty need not worry. This old slave guarantees that apart from this old slave, no one can decipher this set of secret ciphers—not even Marquis Yun.”
Seeing Hong Cheng’s self-confidence, if Li’er didn’t understand this fellow, he would have had someone drag him out and behead him long ago. So his curiosity greatly increased, and he asked: “Why is this so?”
“This old slave learned a method from Marquis Yun that can make secret ciphers change in myriad ways. Although Marquis Yun is clever, if he wants to crack this old slave’s secret ciphers, this old slave considers it absolutely impossible, because the composition of this set of secret ciphers requires first finding a book.”
“Nonsense! With that meager bit of learning in your belly, how can it escape Yun Ye’s eyes? Apart from those few primers, have you read many books?” Li’er didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He felt Hong Cheng had been deceived by Yun Ye again.
“Your Majesty, this book hasn’t appeared yet. This old slave plans to write one himself.”
Li’er felt dizzy. This fool who only recognized a basketful of characters was going to write a book?
“What book do you plan to write? How will you write it?”