A tug-of-war between the Ning Army and the Tianming Army unfolded in this manner — and on the surface, it truly did look desperate. At the very least, neither side had committed a small number of troops.

The only problem was that the majority of those troops were simply standing on both riverbanks, watching.

The Tianming Army soldiers building the bridge, upon spotting fire ships coming downstream, immediately turned and fled. The Tianming Army soldiers observing from the southern riverbank watched on in silence, cheering them on in their hearts.

Once the fire ships burned out, the Tianming Army would come back up to continue building the bridge — and the Ning Army observing from the northern bank seemed to be cheering them on in silence as well.

Because those soldiers building the bridge weren’t actually building a bridge.

After the last defeat at Jingzhou, Shi Fenghui had already formed his own thoughts on the matter.

Think about it — the Tianming King Yang Xuanji had fled on his own, abandoning his three hundred thousand troops, escaping by boat.

And before leaving, he had entrusted Shi Fenghui with the task of leading the three hundred thousand routed soldiers back to Shuzhou. Was this truly a mark of confidence in Shi Fenghui?

Even after returning to Shuzhou, where Yang Xuanji had personally hosted a banquet in his honor, showering him with high praise and generous rewards, Shi Fenghui’s heart remained ill at ease.

Because this assignment had been a death sentence.

Had the Ning Army not opened their blockade and let them through, that battle would have been unavoidable — Ning Army troops pressing hard from the front, and Prince Wu Yang Jiju’s forces pursuing relentlessly from behind.

What fate would have awaited three hundred thousand routed and broken soldiers? One could figure out the ending without even thinking too hard, and so that resentment had been lodged in Shi Fenghui’s chest ever since.

When Yang Xuanji had presented him with his commendation, he had spoken with an expression of utter sincerity: *I place far too great a value on you — among all the soldiers and officers of the three armies, only you could have shouldered such a burden.*

Those words made Shi Fenghui’s stomach turn.

*You simply wanted me to die in your place. I didn’t die because I was lucky enough to survive — and now you expect me to feel grateful?*

And so, after the second march out of Shuzhou, Shi Fenghui had no further intention of charging into battle.

*Dying for you willingly, and being schemed to death by you* — those were two entirely different things.

So when Yang Xuanji once again ordered him to lead troops against the Ning Army, his reluctance was plain — he simply couldn’t find a reasonable excuse to refuse.

Right now, he was perfectly content to idle away more time on the southern bank of the Red River.

There is a saying that the hardest thing in the world is to truly understand another’s heart.

But that saying isn’t quite complete. More precisely, the rarest thing in the world is to repay goodwill with goodwill.

Because ill will can be returned in kind with effortless ease.

In times of peace and prosperity, *you show me three parts of kindness, and I return seven* — such things are commonplace.

But in times of chaos, *you show me three parts of kindness* — and one might wonder, why only three? Why not the full ten?

Shi Fenghui had not even considered outright rebellion against Yang Xuanji — and that itself was already generous enough.

And so the attacking force was always commanded by his own trusted subordinates. Kong Qi and Sun Da were the two men run ragged by this arrangement.

Sun Da led his men in building the crossing bridge. When he spotted fire ships coming downstream, he turned and led them running back — the fire ships slammed into the crossing bridge, but the boats were small, the flames were weak, and the damage to the bridge was insufficient.

Once the fire ships were nearly burned out, Sun Da immediately called out: “Protect the bridge — go put out the fire!”

He charged forward with his men, thinking to himself that the Ning Army really was being terribly perfunctory. *How could a fire like this burn down a bridge?*

*That means we have to do it ourselves.*

Sun Da turned back and shouted toward the riverbank: “The bridge has been damaged — we need to make emergency repairs!”

Then, with a single order, his soldiers took up their axes and began hacking and hammering away. It didn’t take long before the bridge came crashing down — hacking and hammering with axes, using the blade side at that. Was it any wonder it went quickly?

Absolutely absurd.

When the Ning Army saw the bridge collapse, they immediately erupted in cheers, and the more thick-skinned among them actually applauded the Tianming Army bridge-builders.

Zhuang Wudi sat watching from the riverbank, thinking to himself that the commanding general on the far side of the Tianming Army must also be quite an interesting individual.

Shi Fenghui had no desire to fight — none whatsoever, down to his very bones.

Had Yang Xuanji treated him even slightly better, things would not have come to this. Once one’s subordinates lose faith in the man at the top, winning it back is in truth exceedingly difficult.

He felt no guilt about it either. Not rebelling outright was already more than Yang Xuanji deserved.

That night, on the southern riverbank.

Sun Da dropped into a seat across from Shi Fenghui, gasping for breath — he looked genuinely exhausted, as if his old back was on the verge of snapping in two.

“Commander, this can’t go on — the Ning Army across the river is becoming more and more outrageous.”

Sun Da said: “At the start, they were sending out more fire ships, and our bridge went down faster accordingly. Now the Ning Army just casually tosses three or four boats downstream, and every single time we end up having to tear the bridge down ourselves. It’s exhausting.”

Kong Qi said: “The truth is, if our army didn’t have so many informants planted among us, it wouldn’t matter that the Ning Army is being perfunctory. The way things stand in this standoff, those who want to bring the Commander down will have ample opportunity.”

Sun Da said: “Commander, why not write a letter to the Ning Army across the river — give them a good dressing down, tell them to be more serious about it.”

Shi Fenghui burst out laughing.

The Ning Army on the far bank had clearly seen through the Tianming Army’s complete lack of will to attack — they were only going through the motions — and had begun going through the motions themselves. After all, burning ships cost money, and the general commanding that side was probably a miser at heart.

Kong Qi said: “Jokes aside, there are eyes and ears all through this army, and at this very moment, some of them may well be writing secret letters — saying we’re deliberately stalling, maybe even claiming we’re colluding with the Ning Army.”

He looked toward Shi Fenghui: “Commander, we need to think of a countermeasure.”

Sun Da lowered his voice: “Might as well just — go all the way…”

Shi Fenghui shot him a sharp look: “What do you mean, *go all the way*? No matter how much we can’t stand each other, we are all officers under the Tianming King’s banner. How could you say such a thing — how could you harbour intentions of harming others?”

Sun Da let out a sigh, thinking to himself that the Commander really was too soft-hearted.

*Those bastards already harbour intentions of harming us — why shouldn’t we find a way to get rid of them first?*

“What was it you just said?” Shi Fenghui asked.

Sun Da: “Go all the way?”

Shi Fenghui shook his head: “No — the line above that.”

Sun Da thought for a moment and said: “Why not write a letter to the Ning Army across the river?”

Shi Fenghui smiled: “You make a fair point. If one can subdue the enemy without fighting, that is naturally the best outcome. I’ll go write a letter right now to the commanding general of the Ning Army across the river, urging them to surrender.”

Sun Da and Kong Qi exchanged glances, both with a look of worry in their eyes — they were both thinking the Commander must have come down with something.

*Urge the Ning Army to surrender?*

Yet Shi Fenghui was neither joking nor ill. He genuinely wrote a letter, then selected a soldier from his personal guard and sent him out in a small boat under cover of night to the other bank.

Not long after, this messenger soldier was spotted by the Ning Army, captured, and brought before Zhuang Wudi.

Zhuang Wudi took the letter, opened it, and read through it — and as he read on, his eyes slowly narrowed.

He sat in thought for a moment, then wrote a reply and handed it to the soldier: “Take this back to your General Shi.”

The soldier acknowledged the order, then spoke with a somewhat awkward expression: “Commander, there is one thing I need to ask you to arrange.”

Zhuang Wudi asked: “What is it?”

The soldier’s expression grew even more awkward: “When I came across, your men pulled my boat up onto the shore — would you please have someone return it to me? Our side only has that one boat left.”

Zhuang Wudi: “…”

He rose and walked up to the soldier, looking him in the eyes: “Don’t try to deceive me. Even in the worst circumstances imaginable, you couldn’t possibly have only one boat to your name. If you won’t tell the truth, you won’t be going back.”

The soldier had no choice but to answer helplessly: “It wasn’t just one to begin with — only they’ve all been sent over to your side to earn money, haven’t they.”

The corner of Zhuang Wudi’s mouth twitched.

He asked: “How many boats did you send over? How many men?”

The soldier answered honestly: “Not many boats — a dozen or so. Truth be told, no money was earned either, because every man sent over defected — not a single one came back.”

Zhuang Wudi: “…”

He looked at this enemy soldier and found himself almost feeling sorry for him.

The soldier had received Shi Fenghui’s instructions before setting out, and everything he needed to say had already been said — so now he was actually quite relaxed about it.

Zhuang Wudi said: “You may go back. I’ll have someone return your boat.”

The soldier immediately offered his thanks, turned, and ran off.

Before dawn, Shi Fenghui received Zhuang Wudi’s reply. After reading it through, he burst into laughter, repeating three times: *It worked.*

Shortly after daybreak, Shi Fenghui ordered the drum to be beaten and all officers to assemble. The commanders from each camp came rushing over.

Inside the command tent, Shi Fenghui’s expression was grave as dark water.

“These past few days of bridge-building and river-crossing, the progress has been inexcusably slow. I watched from the riverbank while supervising the engagement and could see it plainly — someone has clearly been deliberately shirking their duties, flouting military orders, and showing contempt for military law. Such people are unfit to command troops!”

The moment these words left his mouth, every general in the tent was stunned.

Everyone knew that Sun Da and Kong Qi were the Commander’s most trusted men — if the Commander was saying this, could it be that he intended to turn on his own people?

While they were still puzzling over it, the Commander had already issued his orders.

“Men, strip Sun Da and Kong Qi of their armor, drag them out, give each man thirty strokes of the military rod, then lock them in the prisoner cages — when our army has broken through the northern bank, we will decide their further punishment.”

The personal guards immediately stepped forward, and under the stunned gazes of everyone present, Sun Da and Kong Qi were hauled away.

Before long, the dull thuds of military rods could be heard from outside, along with the two men’s repeated cries of pain.

“You have all witnessed this!” Shi Fenghui said, his expression stern: “These two have been under my command since the very beginning of their military careers — yet even so, I will not bend the law to protect personal connections. The Tianming King has sent us here to attack Yuzhou — we will give our very lives if we must, to take Yuzhou for the Tianming King!”

He swept the tent with his gaze, then began calling out names: “Liu Shengyun, Fang Changlan, Du Xu, Yao Guang’an, Sun Ke…”

He called out seven or eight names in a single breath. Those men stepped forward from the ranks.

Shi Fenghui said: “Today, each of you will take command of a separate force to build a bridge — one bridge per man. You must be on the bridge in person. If anyone again dares to be careless and slack, to ignore military law, do not blame me for showing no mercy.”

These men looked at one another and, without prior arrangement, all began cursing in their hearts.

None of them were Shi Fenghui’s trusted subordinates.

But with the military order handed down, if they refused outright, Shi Fenghui could have their heads taken off on the spot.

And so these men had no choice but to lead their respective troops, relieve Sun Da and Kong Qi’s units, and haul timber to build the crossing bridges.

What no one expected was that the Ning Army — perhaps thinking this was just another round of perfunctory efforts — didn’t even send out a single fire ship this time.

The bridge construction gathered pace, and in just one day, they had built more than halfway across.

The second day, these men led their troops back to continue bridge-building, and the Ning Army watched as if spectating a performance — still no ships sent downstream.

By the looks of it, when the afternoon arrived, the crossing bridge had been built to within less than one *zhang* of the opposite bank. Only then did the Ning Army seem to finally wake up — a dense volley of arrows rained down onto the bridge.

Not long after, a flood of fire ships came from upstream, one after another slamming into the bridge.

On the opposite bank, Shi Fenghui gave a subtle signal, and his men charged forward — feigning bridge repair — and from their side, broke the bridge apart.

Just like that, every single one of the commanding generals who had been stationed on the bridge to supervise construction was left with no way back.

—