On the Prince’s side, the consort’s unbridled words seemed to have touched a raw nerve, and for a brief moment his eyes darkened.
But as he slowly set the writing brush down upon the jade brush rest, it was as though in that short span of time he had quietly extinguished the sudden surge of fury.
Then, as had been his habit over these decades, once a quarrel truly erupted, the Prince of Beizhen fell silent and walked out of the room without a word.
The man had gone, yet the consort of the Prince’s manor still stood rooted in place, unmoving.
Nanny Xi cautiously steadied her by the arm: “To quarrel so fiercely with the Lord over the matters of the younger generation — what is the need?”
The consort gave a cold laugh: “Did you see? He no longer even wishes to quarrel with me. In those early years, I always believed that when he came to the Zong family to seek my hand, it was because he truly admired me. But later I came to understand — my father’s conduct in office was not clean; he was a short-sighted man who rose only as far as the position of Prefect of Taizhou and could advance no further. By choosing a daughter from such a family, the Emperor would never grow suspicious of him. This man of mine — he appears honest and timid, yet every single thing he does has its purpose. In his eyes, who is not a chess piece? What is wrong with me losing my temper? So long as it does not interfere with his affairs, he can endure anything!”
Nanny Xi felt the consort was being too severe in her words, and moved to offer comfort.
The consort drew out a handkerchief and dabbed at the corners of her eyes, which had grown somewhat moist, then gave another cold snort: “Why should the manor be thrown into chaos, while that blind woman hides in her village living a life of ease? Go — send a sharp-tongued old matron, and take advantage of Shizi’s absence. Say it is on my behalf, and give that audacious Su Luoyun a proper dressing-down!”
Nanny Xi understood at once and set about making the arrangements.
On another matter — over at Jia Yong Prefecture, General Wang Yun, upon hearing that Han Linfeng was taking the easy way out and planning to ship the winter provisions all in one go, let out a string of cold laughs.
“How utterly brainless does a man have to be to come up with such a scheme? Is he afraid the meat isn’t fat enough to lure in the hungry wolves?”
The strategist at his side shook his head with a sigh as well: “Fortunately, General, you had the foresight to prepare for a strategic withdrawal early on. Otherwise, if a man like this were left to manage the provisions, our soldiers would starve to death within the city walls before any enemy even launched an attack… Do you think I ought to make some additional ‘preparations’ for the Qianxi Grain Transport Camp?”
Wang Yun gave a grunt: “That fool has already dug his own grave — why should you and I trouble ourselves over it? Whether it’s the Tiefu people or the rebel army, they are all watching him. They will push him in of their own accord… But do pass the word to our people along the grain supply route — if there is any disturbance along that route, hold back and be slow to arrive.”
The strategist heard this and immediately understood the implication. The grain carts were ponderous and slow; though they had an escort, without the support of the garrison troops stationed along the supply route, they would be no more capable of fighting than a procession of ox-carts and donkey teams!
In truth, when General Wang Yun had confiscated the rebel army’s grain provisions earlier, he had secretly held back a portion and had not turned all of it over to the Qianxi Grain Transport Camp.
The grain left at the Qianxi Grain Transport Camp — what remained after his subordinates’ embezzlement — was nowhere near sufficient. So even if Han Linfeng somehow managed to deliver it safely, Wang Yun had his contingencies in reserve.
Wang Yun knew perfectly well — without even needing to stir the pot himself, the thunderous catastrophe hanging over the Qianxi Camp would detonate one after another.
When the time came, he could withdraw his troops on perfectly legitimate grounds and reunite with his wife in Hui City…
He could only hope that scoundrel who would be holding the blame was blessed with a strong enough fate not to die in the chaos of battle…
He would have a word with his wife — when the time came to send condolences to the Prince’s manor, they ought not be too stingy with the mourning gift.
After all, losing a son in middle age is one of life’s greatest griefs. Spending a little more silver was only appropriate.
Setting aside the dark calculations at Jia Yong Prefecture, the matter now turns to the grain supply route out of Qianxi.
The supply route for transporting provisions from Qianxi to Jia Yong Prefecture, when loaded to capacity and traveling at a slow pace, was essentially a three-day journey. Most of the route ran near towns and settlements, with the protection of passing soldiers, and was reasonably passable.
However, because the route passed through a mountain range in the middle section, on the second day of transport one generally had to navigate a narrow mountain pass.
The mountain was choked with dense undergrowth — ideal terrain for an ambush since ancient times, and no one knew how many layers of bleached bones lay buried there. The local people called this pass “Demon’s Grove.”
Any experienced escort official, when passing through this place, would invariably calculate the timing with great care.
Early morning was not suitable — the mountain mist had not yet dispersed at dawn, and if enemies were lying in ambush at the summit, they would be completely concealed within the fog.
Night was even less suitable — to travel by darkness and greedily press forward was to invite misfortune with certainty.
Taking advantage of a midway rest halt, several of the original grain transport officials at the Qianxi Grain Transport Camp also pleaded their case with the chief supervisor:
“Supervisor, the terrain ahead is dangerously formidable. We should turn back and rest the night in the previous town, then pass through Demon’s Grove at midday tomorrow!”
Han Linfeng, sitting astride his horse, took a casual sip from a wine flask, then idly counted on his fingers: “If I follow your counsel, would that not cause us to miss the scheduled arrival time for the provisions? That would be a full day’s delay! How many days have we already been on the road? No bathing, no proper food, and no women for company — a man could scarcely call it living! Even if the King of Hell himself were lurking in that grove today, I would not be afraid! Do you think the blades in our hands are just for show? Everyone — raise your spirits! Be bold, have no fear, and if we can deliver the provisions ahead of schedule, I will reward each of you with two taels of silver!”
At these words, the transport officials grimaced in dismay, while the soldiers below broke into jubilant cheers, calling out their thanks to the supervisor for the promised reward.
Just as the soldiers were resting in place and eating their meal, a slight and wiry soldier seized a moment when no one was watching and slipped into the woods nearby.
Someone was already waiting there. At the sight of the soldier approaching, the person immediately asked in a low voice: “Well? Are they planning to turn back and pass through Demon’s Grove at midday tomorrow?”
The soldier said quietly: “The supervisor is sick of suffering on the road and wants to get back sooner — so he has no intention of turning back. Tonight they are going to feel their way through the grove in the dark.”
The person stared blankly upon hearing this: “How can anyone be this stupid? Could it be a ruse?”
The informant soldier gave an awkward laugh: “He’d have to have some brains to pull a ruse. You know how he’s been — gambling and eating all the way, paying no attention to anything. A worthless dog, that’s all he is!”
With this, the person put his doubts to rest and relayed the information to Qiu Zhen, who was waiting in the dense forest ahead.
Raiding provisions was not ordinarily the kind of business that required the deputy commander himself to take the field.
But earlier it had been Qiu Zhen’s momentary carelessness that had allowed him to fall prey to Wang Yun’s trap, costing him those provisions.
More than a few veteran officers in the rebel army had used the incident to mock and undermine him, deliberately trying to chip away at Qiu Zhen’s standing.
So Qiu Zhen resolved to reassert his military prestige — to have the “Iron-Masked Army” make its appearance once more in Demon’s Grove. Such a surprise raid to reclaim the stolen provisions would restore his face.
Besides, what risk could there possibly be in killing a worthless young noble? Qiu Zhen felt that such an opportunity — to strike deep behind enemy lines with virtually no risk — was rare and not to be squandered.
A chance to further burnish his own reputation was absolutely not to be passed up!
So this time, Qiu Zhen led the operation personally — using a dragon-slaying blade to kill a mere chicken — and he would personally see Han Shizi off to the Yellow Springs Road of no return!
One could not help but wonder whether Shizi’s incomparably beautiful blind wife would weep herself into a tearful swoon…
As the darkness of night deepened, the grain convoy had only just reached the edge of Demon’s Grove.
With the mountain peaks blocking out the light, the mountain path was exceedingly dark and gloomy.
The grain transport convoy came to a halt, rested briefly, lit torches, and then began to advance once more.
On the gradually darkening mountain path, it was only by the light of those scattered flames that one could make out the horses and carts of the grain convoy, and the dim, shadowy shapes of riders on horseback.
When the convoy had advanced to the middle of the mountain ravine — with both the head and tail of the column swallowed up within the mountain — Qiu Zhen, wearing his iron mask, suddenly fired a flaming arrow into the sky.
At once the troops in ambush at both ends of the ravine sprang into action, hurling the stones they had prepared beforehand down into the ravine, while simultaneously nocking their bows and loosing arrows — a dense rain of arrows streaking through the air with a howling whistle.
In an instant, the ravine filled with the panicked, agonized screams of horses, and the dull thuds of carts colliding with rocks and trees.
The subordinates surrounding Qiu Zhen, all wearing iron masks, burst into laughter, knowing the ambush had already been half a success.
Yet Qiu Zhen suddenly narrowed his eyes, sensing that something was not quite right…
Han Linfeng’s grain convoy had over a hundred men! Then why, when the rocks came crashing down just now, was there not a single human voice to be heard?
He was a man who had clawed his way through the edge of blades — at once the hair on the back of his neck stood up, his instincts screaming that something was wrong. And so just as his men were lighting their torches to illuminate the way, preparing to charge down the hillside, he suddenly bellowed: “Something’s wrong — it’s an ambush! Extinguish the torches! Quickly!”
But before his words had even fallen, the mantis’s own predators had already begun to move — a volley of cold arrows, seemingly out of nowhere, came swarming from all sides toward the positions where his men were hiding, and several figures toppled in an instant.
With quick hands and keen eyes, Qiu Zhen snatched a shield from the attendant beside him and deflected the assault, while simultaneously pinpointing the source of the hidden arrows — they were raining down from the great trees directly behind him.
He grabbed a torch lying at his feet and flung it high into the air. In the brief flare of light, he finally made out the scene in those trees…
One after another, figures wrapped in dry brown bark — “tree men” — were perched in the branches, raining arrows down from their elevated positions.
These past two days the mountain had been shrouded in mist, and the shadows of the forest were dark and indistinct. Dressed as they were, these tree men would escape notice entirely unless one looked with deliberate care.
To ensure there were no slip-ups, Qiu Zhen had received his intelligence and lain in ambush on this mountain for half a day.
These “tree men” must have climbed into the trees even earlier, lying in wait still longer.
Bear in mind that this entire mountain was full of Qiu Zhen’s personal troops. For these figures to go undetected, they would have needed to remain completely motionless in the branches.
And there was more than one person up in those trees. To maintain such concealment — what kind of rigorously trained iron army could produce such soldiers?
Just as Qiu Zhen was ordering his men to fire into the trees, from behind the ridgeline of the Demon’s Grove ravine, another squad of fighters silently crept forward.
It turned out they had actually used ropes to climb all the way around and approach Qiu Zhen’s rear — swords and blades in hand, not making a sound, advancing to deliver the killing blow.
These fighters who had come from behind were clearly nothing like the idle soldiers a grain transport camp would produce. Every single one of them was ferocious and valiant. That raw, carving-through-flesh ferocity could only be forged in the bloody close-quarters combat of a battlefield.
The leader had the audacity to shout with wide open eyes: “Look at all these people wearing masks playing ghost — every last one with a mask gets an extra few stabs!”
No one knew why these arrivals bore such a fierce hatred of iron masks. But the soldiers, hearing the order, let out wild battle cries and made a point of targeting whoever wore a mask, hacking at them with gusto.
What a pity that any among Qiu Zhen’s men who had even a modicum of standing had been granted the distinction of wearing such a mask!
In an instant, the masks became magnets drawing swords and blades from every direction, blood and carnage following in their wake!
Qiu Zhen too was forced into the ignominy of flinging his own mask from his face, while once again a question formed in his mind: just what in hell were these people and where had they come from? Could he have fallen again into the trap of Great Wei’s Commander Wang Yun?
Qiu Zhen had no time for further deliberation — he could only throw himself into close combat with this pack of ferocious warriors bearing down on him.
He who had come as the ambusher had abruptly become the prey; the humiliation of it went without saying.
The greater part of the soldiers Qiu Zhen had brought were cut down.
Using his agile and powerful body, he barely managed to dodge a few killing strikes, but his arm and back still caught several sword blows.
Had he not acted on a sudden inspiration — with the protection of several personal guards, pressing himself into a crack along the cliff face at the mountain’s side and hiding there — he might well have met his end in Demon’s Grove, never to emerge again.
He hid there for an entire day and night. During that time one could clearly hear the sounds of people combing the mountain in search, yet those searching never spoke, making it utterly impossible to glean anything from eavesdropping.
In the end, Qiu Zhen felt one thing above all else… he was absolutely famished! And yet he could not let his stomach growl — he could only cinch his belt tighter and grit his teeth, waiting until every last soldier on the mountain had withdrawn.
Finally, a handful of starving survivors who had slipped through the net crawled out from the crevices in the rock.
It was now the early dawn. By the faint light on the horizon, Qiu Zhen — covered in blood and leaning on a makeshift walking stick — descended the mountain, and at last saw clearly what the scene in the ravine that night had actually looked like. The horses that had been killed by the falling rocks were still there, along with the shattered carts. But on both the carts and the horses’ backs were nothing but straw men, bundled and tied into shape!
And on the horses’ necks, bamboo poles had been fastened, with several carrots dangling from the front…
So it appeared they had used the carrots to drive the horses forward, then used the cover of darkness to set up a straw-man decoy formation!
But after walking a few more steps, he did discover one real dead man tied to a horse’s back!
The trusted aide at his side who managed covert operatives recognized him at a glance — this thin, scrawny fellow was none other than the spy within the grain transport camp who had been sending him intelligence!
He had apparently been gagged and bound hand and foot, lashed securely to a horse’s back, and had ultimately been killed by the shower of rocks — on Qiu Zhen’s own orders.
Qiu Zhen now understood completely: his operation had been anticipated from the very beginning, and he had fallen firmly and decisively into a trap.
He had brought over a hundred brothers on this expedition, yet now only a sorry handful of stragglers remained — returning empty-handed, stomachs empty, in utter disgrace…
This kind of humiliation — to be deceived so thoroughly and left with nothing — was something Qiu Zhen had never experienced before.
A subordinate had thoughtfully retrieved his iron mask just moments ago and was now presenting it respectfully to the war god.
Qiu Zhen savagely flung the mask to the ground: “Once I find out who it is that tricked me like this, if I do not reduce him to a thousand pieces, I will never be rid of this fury in my heart!”
Yet the streak of ill fortune for this war god of the rebel army seemed to have no end in sight.
Just as he made his way back in wretched disarray and finally staggered back to the rebel army’s main camp, he discovered that a company of Great Wei troops had actually launched a night raid while he was gone.
This group had apparently come from the Qian Bei Camp. They had somehow learned that it was the rebel army who had killed several of their military officers some time ago.
And the company that arrived this time was made up entirely of young soldiers — to call it a surprise raid would be generous; it was more accurate to say they came purely to retaliate and make a nuisance of themselves.
When this young general surnamed Zhao from the Qian Bei Camp arrived at the front camp, he unleashed a hailstorm of pig bladders filled with excrement and urine, which came pelting in like ice stones, drenching the rebel army soldiers in the front camp from head to foot.
When the rebel army opened their gates, that group of men turned and ran as if they had been greased with oil, retreating to a distance to provoke and taunt.
When the rebels fired arrows at them, they raised the rattan shields they carried and deflected everything cleanly, then responded with a stream of foul and abusive taunts.
In this manner, all attention was drawn to the front camp.
After several rounds of this petty brawl-style exchange, the Qian Bei Camp’s soldiers had not gained any particularly significant advantage.
Yet it was not until the Qian Bei troops withdrew that the guards discovered — while the front had been in chaos, Cao Sheng, who should have been lying unconscious on his sickbed, along with his wife and his daughter Cao Pei’er, had vanished without a trace.
It was plain that the Great Wei troops had been a diversionary tactic — a ploy to draw the tiger from the mountain. Someone had used the chaos to spirit Cao Sheng’s entire family away.
Qiu Zhen’s handsome face darkened with fury — so the mantis had stalked the cicada, only for the mantis itself to be in the sights of the oriole, and behind that oriole there had been a damn falcon lying in wait as well!
The one capable of rescuing Cao Sheng was naturally the escaped Yuan Xi and his associates. But that the Qian Bei Camp’s troops would cooperate with a band of rebels — that was something utterly unheard of!
It should be known that the bounty on Cao Sheng’s head had been increasing year after year, never reduced. Yet now Great Wei soldiers had actually acted as his cover? What kind of inconceivable madness was this?
That Yuan Xi… having fled all the way to Liangzhou in the first place — whom had he actually gone to seek for reinforcements?
Setting aside the rebel war god Qiu Zhen’s incandescent rage and utter bewilderment — over at Jia Yong Prefecture, Wang Yun sat at his ease in his camp, studying the sand table map, plotting out where the heir of Prince Beizhen would meet his end.
He tapped the map at Demon’s Grove ravine with the riding crop in his hand, then turned to the strategists at his side and said: “Gentlemen — would any of you care to wager that a battle will likely take place at this very spot?”
Those strategists were adept at flattery, naturally expressing their disbelief and declaring their willingness to bet against the general.
As it turned out, Wang Yun won his wager: a fierce engagement had indeed occurred in Demon’s Grove, with bodies strewn across the ground in spectacular fashion.
Upon receiving the intelligence report stating that the grain transport camp’s carts had not been seen emerging from Demon’s Grove, Wang Yun concluded that the provisions had indeed failed to get through.
The Commander-in-Chief felt not a single pang of remorse over what Han Shizi had suffered.
This man surnamed Han had broken virtually every rule in the military strategist’s book — if Heaven were just, he ought to be dead!
And so Wang Yun, upon receiving the intelligence report, calmly instructed his strategists to prepare a memorial to be submitted to the throne, detailing the dire situation on the front lines brought about by Han Linfeng’s conduct alone, and beseeching His Majesty’s gracious permission to withdraw troops from Jia Yong Prefecture — which could no longer be held without provisions.
But before the ink had even dried on the drafted memorial, word came again from the city gates: a massive shipment of grain and provisions had assembled outside the gates of Jia Yong Prefecture.
When Wang Yun received this report, he spilled hot tea all over himself, and exclaimed in astonishment: “What? The provisions have arrived? Did the intelligence not just say the grain transport camp ran into an ambush in Demon’s Grove? What in the world is going on?”
The strategist was also greatly surprised, and personally went to verify the matter himself. When he returned, his expression was grave: “Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief: it truly is the grain transport camp’s carts and horses — and Han Linfeng is there in person, supervising the delivery!”
Wang Yun felt his head buzzing, and in some disbelief went up to the city tower himself to look.
Below the city gates, a long dragon of grain carts stretched out tail to head, laid out in a single line. Jia Yong Prefecture soldiers went down to inspect, and the carts were indeed loaded with nothing but full, abundant grain.
Han Linfeng sat astride his horse in full military attire, clasped his fists together, and called up loudly toward the general on the city wall: “We have been waiting here for quite some time — when might General Wang be willing to let us enter the city?”
Wang Yun’s eyes swept back and forth over the scene below the city gates. A faint smile slowly spread across his face as he feigned surprise and said: “Just moments ago a scout came to report that the grain transport camp’s men had been ambushed in Demon’s Grove — I was just preparing to lead troops to reinforce them. Little did I expect you had already arrived. The gate commander feared there might be treachery, so he was naturally being cautious about opening the gates…”
At that, he called out: “Open the city gates at once — let Supervisor Han enter!”
Once Han Linfeng had entered the city, Wang Yun narrowed his eyes and asked: “I wonder if Supervisor Han could explain — what exactly happened in Demon’s Grove?”
Han Linfeng smiled faintly and said in a clear voice: “As the saying goes, all is fair in war. These provisions were of the utmost importance. As a newcomer to this post, I could not afford the slightest carelessness. When I took over, I discovered that most of the provisions in the grain transport camp had already gone moldy and were unfit to be delivered to the soldiers on the front line. Fortunately, the subordinates at the grain transport camp were generous, voluntarily contributing their own personal funds to make up the shortfall. It was only with that money that I was able to arrange procurement and have a fresh consignment of provisions drawn from the southern region. In order to avoid drawing attention and inviting bandits, I gave out the story that it was my wife purchasing household goods and bolts of cloth from the south, shipped in batches through the escort agencies.”
At this, he smiled and watched Wang Yun’s fixed stare, then continued: “As for the carts and horses in Demon’s Grove — that was simply a diversionary tactic devised by my subordinates for added security. Those carts were loaded with moldy old grain and dried hay; whoever wanted to raid them was welcome to it. Fortunately I have such seasoned and capable officers among my men — it truly averted a catastrophe… And fortunately young General Zhao from the Qian Bei Camp was so righteous as to volunteer to help me sweep out those bandits. Commander — had I truly led my men through that grove, would you not now be putting together mourning gifts for my funeral?”
After saying all this, Han Linfeng began laughing heartily. But after two laughs, he leaned his handsome face in curiously and asked: “Commander — was what I said not amusing? How is it that you are not laughing?”
Wang Yun was startled by his suddenly looming face and could not help but step back a pace. Composing himself, he gave a dry laugh and forced himself to laugh along with Han Linfeng.
As it turned out, the truly vital provisions had, three days prior, been transported through Demon’s Grove in ten separate batches through the escort agencies, then reassembled and loaded onto carts at the nearby villages and towns, before being transported here.
The more General Wang heard, the greater his astonishment — even a man of deep and seasoned cunning was finding it somewhat difficult to keep his expression under control.
This scheme of openly concealing a covert move — who had devised it for this supposed good-for-nothing?
Forty full cartloads of grain, and this man surnamed Han had managed to procure them all without attracting even a whisper of intelligence. He himself had not heard a single breath of it!
And so, entirely without his guard, he had simply watched Han Linfeng deliver the provisions here without a hitch.
Han Linfeng looked at Wang Yun’s uncertain, doubting eyes and smiled faintly, saying: “I ask the General to personally inspect the goods. For thoroughness, you may open each sack individually to verify the grain, and if you have no objection to the quantities, please sign and seal the receipt document. I have been away from home for many days and miss my father dearly — if there is nothing further, I would like to head back early.”
The grain was full and plump in every kernel, dry and sound. Han Linfeng even stayed in Jia Yong Prefecture for a midday meal, served with the very new rice he had delivered.
When the meal was finished and the documents had been signed, Han Linfeng wiped his mouth, bade farewell to General Wang Yun, and made his way home!
Wang Yun saw the young heir off, and the moment he was gone, Wang Yun’s entire face darkened like a man who had been constipated for three months.
At that very moment, the scouts dispatched that morning had only just returned, reporting urgently: “Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief — the ones who were ambushed in Demon’s Grove were not the Qianxi Grain Transport Camp, but a unit of the rebel army. Their casualties were severe — it appears the entire force was annihilated…”
This tardy intelligence caused Wang Yun to narrow his eyes once more. Before his eyes, the image of Han Shizi’s carelessly smiling face kept floating up.
Han Linfeng… what manner of man was he really, to deliver the provisions against all expectation like this? Could it truly be explained as mere good fortune, combined with capable subordinates?