The pouring rain blanketed the rolling mountains around Weisheng. The fighting within the Heavenly Ultimate Palace had reached a fever pitch; soldiers surged forward in the driving rain, generals leading charges, lines of attack and defense weaving through blood and corpses in a scene of unspeakable carnage.
The sudden downpour had reduced the intended power of the explosives meant to detonate within the city, objectively extending what had been meant as a brief window of siege and defense. Because the Tiger King himself led the charge, his long-standing authority managed to hold the wavering battle lines together. And because the fighting here had not yet ceased, the chaos within the city was only intensifying.
On one side of the Heavenly Ultimate Palace, in an area already seized by the rebel forces, negotiations were underway that might well be the true deciding factor in the future fate of the Tiger King’s territory—though in practical terms, these negotiations could probably no longer determine the Tiger King’s own fate. The chaos within the city would, sooner or later, lead to a fixed outcome, and outside the city, the great general Yu Yulin’s army was already on its way, closing in. Though on the surface this appeared to be merely a political upheaval and counterattack within Prince Jin’s territory, the situation underneath was far more complex than it seemed.
“…Yang Shun, Fang Xiang, Su Ji, Shen An, Sheng Ben, Shi Xun, Sang Ying… Dou Zhao, Huang Da, Huang Xiaobing, Du Wei, Qian Linzhong, Hou Zhaolan…”
As the rain fell, Lou Shuwan listed name after name, while the three elders opposite her showed no reaction. Dressed in black, she stated everything calmly, fluently and simply, without even a piece of paper in her hands—clearly, she had already turned these details over in her mind countless times.
“…Because of the support of these people, today’s uprising is not confined to Weisheng alone. At this very moment, fires are already burning across Prince Jin’s territory…”
“Prince Jin! Do you forget it was Prince Jin who took you in!”
“Lord Yuan, there’s no point saying such things. Where were you when I was thrown into prison?”
“So you’re colluding with the Huaxia Army!”
Lou Shuwan’s gaze swept past Yuan Zhanxia across from her and moved on without dwelling on him.
“After this affair is settled, the Huaxia Army will sell us two hundred iron heavy cannons, hand over the list of spies infiltrating our side, and after the handover is complete, will withdraw southwest in stages.”
At this, the three men across from her fell silent for a moment. The elderly man surnamed Tang finally spoke. “Two hundred heavy cannons? And the withdrawal of Huaxia Army personnel?”
Another of the men couldn’t help but add, “Huaxia Army personnel… it’s entirely up to them what they say… how can we trust that…”
Yuan Zhanxia, however, shook his head, giving a hollow, helpless laugh. “That’s exactly the point…”
“What does it matter whether you trust it or not? This uprising across various regions was largely spearheaded by Huaxia Army members, and they are voluntarily withdrawing a large number of their own. Are the three of you still not satisfied? If it weren’t for the Tiger King losing his head, you three would need to get me those two hundred iron cannons yourselves, and clear out another batch of their people besides.”
Lou Shuwan’s expression turned cold. “Furthermore, Wang Juyun and I agreed that he would launch his own attack from the north today, at the same time, pressing forward with his army. However, Wang Juyun is a cunning and calculating man, not to be trusted lightly. I believe he already moved his troops last night, storming the pass and seizing territory while taking advantage of our internal chaos. The three of you have holdings in Gaizhou and elsewhere—I imagine they are already in dire peril…”
At this, Tang Shun across from her suddenly slammed the table, his eyes flashing with fury as he pointed at Lou Shuwan. “You…”
“What has fallen into the tiger’s mouth cannot be retrieved. But if you send someone immediately, perhaps you can still persuade him to negotiate and withdraw his troops. After this matter is over, we will sell Wang Juyun two hundred thousand piculs of grain, in three installments over the course of a year, in exchange for cash, goods, and iron at eighty percent of market value…”
“So you’ve been colluding with Wang Juyun too.”
“Lord Yuan, I respect you as a hero of this region—don’t play dumb when you clearly understand. Things have come to this point; calling it ‘collusion’ serves no purpose. It’s simply how circumstances have unfolded.”
Thunder rolled outside the hall. In the somewhat dim chamber, on one side stood a slender woman, and on the other, three elderly men, each with a different expression but all carrying the same air of authority. The standoff fell silent for a moment. Not far off, the smiling, portly merchant quietly watched it all unfold.
Circumstances shape outcomes.
Four simple words, yet carrying an unbearably heavy weight of reality.
Lou Shuwan pressed her lips together and drew a breath. “You all understand better than I do what kind of man the Tiger King is. He grew suspicious of me, threw me in prison, threw a whole group of people in prison—he had grown so frightened he lost all reason!”
“This kind of thing has happened before in Prince Jin’s court. If you’re going to kill someone, that someone has to protect themselves. The Tiger King might not have killed me this time—but whether I rebel or not was never my only path. Yet if he means to move against the Black Banner, the Black Banner will move against him.”
“If it were only the Black Banner, I wouldn’t mind risking everything. But the Central Plains holds far more than just the Black Banner. What kind of man is Wang Juyun? With the Black Banner coordinating from within, how could he possibly let such an opportunity slip by? Even setting aside the mere farmers under my command, the Tiger King would still lose a layer of skin facing these two forces at once.”
Lou Shuwan tapped her fingers twice on the table.
“Third, all these years, you have all seen clearly what kind of outrages the Tiger King’s own kin have committed. And this so-called ‘foremost man of the Central Plains’—what is he really?… The Tiger King harbors grand ambitions, always believing that by playing along under the Jurchens’ watchful eye for now, he could achieve great things later. Hmph, ‘great things’—if he hadn’t behaved this way, we wouldn’t all be wanting him dead today!”
Hearing this, Yuan Zhanxia frowned. “You, a mere woman, dare to pass such arrogant judgment on the great ambitions of men! If you wish to serve the Jurchens like a dog, you needn’t proclaim it so loudly!”
Lou Shuwan looked at him. “Whether it’s serving like a dog, I don’t know. But whether I’ll die or not, I know very well! The Black Banner resisted the Jurchens for three years purely because they harbored great ambitions?! Among their ranks, there were no clansmen seizing women, raping, burning, and killing! Harboring great ambitions while failing to reflect on oneself is a dead end!”
“This much, I can see clearly, Tian Shi can see clearly, Yu Yulin and many others can see clearly too. Following the Tiger King means death. Betraying the Tiger King also means standing against the Jurchens—but at least the chances of survival are far greater than staying with him!”
She spread one hand open. “Within three years at most, five at the latest, the Jurchens will likely depose Liu Yu and take direct control of the Central Plains themselves. Kill Tian Hu now, first secure the two hundred cannons and the connection to the Huaxia Army, root out the cause of internal chaos, then join forces with Wang Juyun, and there will be room and time to maneuver. Or, if the three of you remain loyal to the Tiger King and refuse to cooperate with me in rooting out the chaos, I will kill the three of you, the Huaxia Army will make this into a bigger affair, Prince Jin’s territory will splinter into internal chaos, and Wang Juyun will seize every advantage while the picking is easy…”
“Gentlemen, I am but a woman. I only wish to survive in this chaotic age. Managing a household, I can do; waging war, I cannot. Even if I wished to seize power, you men wouldn’t fear me for it. When the Jurchens come, I will kneel immediately. The three of you may choose to fight or surrender as you see fit. But whether you fight or surrender, if you wish to survive, you must make the Jurchens think a little more highly of you first. That is all I have to say—please consider it carefully, my lords.”
When she finished speaking, an eerie silence fell over the hall amid the rustling sound of the rain. In truth, circumstance overpowers man more than anything else. In this silence, Tang Shun, smiling faintly, turned his gaze toward the short, stout merchant off to the side—they had, of course, already noticed him, but since Lou Shuwan hadn’t mentioned him, they hadn’t asked either. Now, it became a convenient way to break the awkwardness. “I wonder who this gentleman might be…”
“An envoy of the Huaxia Army,” Lou Shuwan said coldly.
“Dong Fangxian, manager of the Bamboo Registry, greeting the three elder lords.” The short, stout merchant stepped forward with a smile.
“Head Manager, your reputation precedes you.”
Upon hearing this name, the three elders, who moments ago had been utterly haughty in Lou Shuwan’s presence, now bowed respectfully in return. This was one of the highest-ranking managers within the Bamboo Registry—a name they had certainly heard before. Ever since the three years at Xiaocang River, hardly anyone belonging to any faction across the Central Plains could remain arrogant when actually meeting someone of this rank within the Huaxia Army.
These people—once the Heart Demon’s direct followers—could not simply be described with a word as simple as “formidable.”
“Head Manager,” Yuan Zhanxia said, “in this affair, it seems all the advantage has gone to the Black Banner.”
“You flatter us too much, Lord Yuan,” Dong Fangxian said with a smile. “In the end, all of this was done with all of your interests in mind. Prince Jin overreaches with little to show for it—his ambitions have reached their limit here. The three of you are different; so long as you set things right, there is still a great future ahead of you. As for my Bamboo Registry, selling cannons and withdrawing personnel—honestly, Lord Yuan, on this occasion the Huaxia Army has taken a real loss just to make a name for itself.”
“Oh? You’ve thrown our side into such disarray, and yet the Huaxia Army claims to have lost out?”
“Lord Yuan misunderstands. So long as you don’t regard the Bamboo Registry as an enemy, you’ll find that in this transaction, our Huaxia Army has gained nothing but a bit of reputation.” Dong Fangxian smiled, then let his smile fade somewhat, his expression turning serious.
“On this journey north, our mistress asked me to convey a few words to you gentlemen. As the realm crumbles, the true enemy of the Huaxia people is the Jurchens alone. Back at Xiaocang River, you gentlemen were forced by the Jurchens into a position, and though we naturally found ourselves opposed to one another, it was truly unavoidable on both sides. Now that the Huaxia Army has withdrawn to the southwest and will not be moving north again in the near future, there is naturally no further conflict of interest between us. You and I are both sons and daughters of Huaxia, and our interests, in fact, align.”
“The Jurchens’ seizure of the Central Plains and establishment of the puppet Qi regime is, in the end, only a stopgap, expedient measure. Once their domestic affairs are settled and they have strength to spare, they will surely turn south to swallow this prosperous land whole—they will not let it go. You gentlemen, serving under the puppet Qi, may play along for now, but if the Central Plains truly falls firmly into Jurchen hands, your own clans, families, and friends will likely never know peace again. Therefore, a conflict between your side and the Jurchens is inevitable one day—and the Huaxia Army stands even further behind that line.”
“Helping you gentlemen grow strong buys us time and space. And since we ourselves are stationed in the difficult terrain of the far south, where many things are inconvenient, establishing good relations with you gentlemen allows both sides to obtain what we each need, growing stronger together. You and I are both people of Huaxia, and at this moment of crisis when the realm crumbles and countless lives suffer, we ought to join hands and stand united against the Jurchens. This time, in removing Tian Hu for you, we hope you gentlemen can cleanse yourselves of this internal threat and set things right, and that both our sides can set aside past grievances—a good first collaboration lays the foundation for the next. In this world, the living space for the Han people is far too narrow. Being friends is always better than being enemies.”
Dong Fangxian finished speaking earnestly. The three elders fell silent for a moment, then Tang Shun said, “Even so, you Huaxia Army have made quite a name for yourselves out of this…”
“Compared to resisting the Jurchens, it’s really nothing much.”
This was, after all, just killing another emperor—truly nothing much… And yet, hearing Dong Fangxian’s reasoning, the three found themselves unable to refute it. Yuan Zhanxia said in a low voice, “Does the Huaxia Army truly mean this sincerely?”
Dong Fangxian’s expression turned solemn. “Lord Yuan, please understand—the Huaxia Army is now a thorn in the Jurchens’ side, a splinter in their flesh. Even without fearing the Jurchens, for the time being we can only choose to remain in the far south; we will not be coming north again anytime soon. Three years of resisting the Jurchens, over a hundred thousand lives sacrificed—the Huaxia Army’s reputation in the Central Plains was hard-won. Have you ever known us to throw away such a reputation carelessly? We killed Tian Hu because Tian Hu meant to move against us, and we also wanted to tell everyone: the Huaxia Army will not be trifled with. Now that we have this reputation, we wish to open trade routes, to conduct commerce back and forth, so that both sides can exchange what we lack and profit from each other. Lord Yuan, this first deal of ours is being made for all the world to see—have you ever seen anyone deliberately smash their own signboard? If we ruined our reputation just to spite you gentlemen for a moment’s satisfaction, we would never again have the chance to trade with the Central Plains. If everyone feared the Huaxia Army, what good would that do us?”
“And yet… during those three years, our side did, after all, help the Jurchens, and killed no small number of your people…”
“Ah! Listen to what Lord Yuan is saying!” Dong Fangxian laughed heartily, waving his hand. “Only children argue about right and wrong—adults speak only of gains and losses!”
The words were spoken with great conviction, striking home.
“So long as there is a future opportunity to cooperate, to stand shoulder to shoulder against the Jurchens together, all past misunderstandings, however slight, can be wiped clean! To resolve a misunderstanding, someone must always take the first step—gentlemen, the Huaxia Army has already taken that first step.”
“Ah.” At some point, someone in the hall let out a sigh, and silence stretched on for a while longer.
“…Actually, when the Tiger King stubbornly insisted on surrendering to the Jurchens back then… I did try to dissuade him… but in the end… circumstance overpowers man…”
These words, this voice, seemed to carry little real meaning. Amid the vast pouring rain, they gradually sank and dissolved away.
In the pouring rain, soldiers surged forward.
A massive battering ram crashed against the city gate.
Long blades flashed over the heads of the crowd.
Countless footsteps, generals leading their men, cutting through the masses.
Killing atop the city walls; bodies falling from the tall, towering gray stone ramparts.
The once-hunter, now king, roared as he charged through the chaos.
Countless, countless raindrops.
A city locked in slaughter.
A city collapsing.
A city gone mad…
This kind of chaos, in similar yet different forms, continued to spread, nearly engulfing the entirety of Prince Jin’s territory.
In Zezhou, someone was fleeing, his hair disheveled, half his body soaked in blood, rushing through the vast, chaos-stricken city.
“The Tiger King has lost his head—”
“Tian Zeyun has committed treason—”
“All law-abiding citizens are forbidden from the streets, violators will be killed without mercy—listen well, everyone! All law-abiding citizens are forbidden from the streets, violators will be killed without mercy. Stay in your homes, and you will be safe—”
“Starving ghosts! The starving refugees have entered the city—”
Countless chaotic cries rang out; flames already roared into the sky, smoke and dust rising to the heavens.
Lin Zongwu, his face grim, had already led Tan Zheng and a large number of underworld men out of the temple and was deploying them around the area.
Then, Lin Zongwu saw Wang Nantuo running toward him at full speed, clearly having just fought a fierce battle and taken wounds. “Black Banner… Sun Qi…”
Lin Zongwu had already begun to sense what was happening.
“Sun Qi is dead.”
Wang Nantuo said this, but did not stop.
“The army—the army is coming…”
Lin Zongwu clenched his teeth, his eyes blazing with fury to the utmost degree. In that instant, he thought again of the figure he had glimpsed not long before.
Turning back, he saw Tan Zheng still earnestly organizing the men, issuing orders without pause, arranging defenses, or sending others to rescue the righteous heroes from the prison.
The iron hooves of cavalry thundered down the long street, surging forward: “By order of General Yan, exterminate the rebel traitors of the Manichaean sect! Any underworld bandits gathered here bearing weapons who refuse to surrender will be killed without mercy—”
This was but one small, tiny whirlpool within the chaos-stricken city, and in this instant, the heroes of the underworld, who had not yet done anything at all, were swept into it. A city once full of opportunity had become a killing field of death.
A vast sea of fire and smoke spread out across the city as night fell…