At Hanyang Pass, Defense Commissioner Xu Zhongxing stood atop the city wall, gazing into the distance.
At the limit of his vision, a sea of battle banners broke through the mist. Countless iron cavalry advanced toward Hanyang Pass, their military qi towering like a mountain!
Xu Zhongxing's pupils contracted slightly. Such military qi was entirely beyond his expectations. Hanyang Pass boasted a garrison of fifty thousand. If it had been the original garrison, they might still have formed such military qi, but when the new commanderies and offices were established, Chen Dao and Yue Jinshan had stripped away many of their elites, leaving their military qi far diminished from what it once was. Now, without massing thirty to forty thousand men, it would be almost impossible to generate such an aura.
There were ways to conceal or exaggerate military qi, but the army before him was currently on the march. While there was a chance they were flaunting their might before the pass, it fundamentally reflected their true strength and morale.
Beside him, Fan Donghe looked solemn. Only after a long pause did he say, "Truly an army of wolves and tigers!"
A guerrilla general remarked, "Fortunately, they can be put to use by the imperial court now. With them holding the west, our days will be far easier."
Fan Donghe gave a harsh chuckle. "Easier? Not necessarily. Wild, wolfish ambition may be restrained for a time, but sooner or later it will show its fangs."
The force approached swiftly. Even the ordinary soldiers could make out the character "Wei," large as a bushel basket, emblazoned on dark green banners.
The entire force consisted of cavalry, numbering more than three thousand riders, uniformly clad in green armor with red trim. Though merely on a routine march, their hoofbeats rumbled like thunder, surging with murderous intent!
Reaching the outskirts of the pass, the cavalry shifted direction. Rather than entering, they skirted the fortress walls. The relevant dispatches had long since reached Hanyang Pass, so the generals within knew this was the force escorting Wei Yuan, Military Commissioner of Dingxi, to the capital for an imperial audience.
Xu Zhongxing suddenly murmured, "When he rode west all alone back then, I didn't even know such a person existed. Who would have thought that in less than a year, he would command a cavalry force no weaker than the Nine Armies?"
"Hmph, likely nothing more than a showy display," a colonel muttered sullenly. "If our elites hadn't been reassigned, we wouldn't be any worse!"
Fan Donghe shot the man a fierce glare, then returned to scrutinizing the column of riders, his brow furrowing deeper with every passing second. "Their military qi is strange. How can so few men produce such immense military qi? It's strong to an absurd degree."
Xu Zhongxing possessed far superior eyesight and said slowly, "Because there are many, many Dao Foundations among them—perhaps eight hundred, perhaps a thousand. Cloaked by their military qi, it's hard to see clearly."
Fan Donghe jumped in fright. "That many?! Where on earth did he find so many Dao Foundations? Did every Dao Foundation in the Shattered Lands flock to his side?"
The cavalry had already bypassed the pass fortress. Watching the receding banner bearing the character "Wei," Fan Donghe muttered, "Nourishing a tiger only courts disaster! Why would His Majesty enfeoff him as a military commissioner? It's utter foolishness!"
Xu Zhongxing glared fiercely at him, and only then did Fan Donghe realize his slip of the tongue. Fortunately, those around them were comrades who had fought side by side for years; none should report his words to their superiors.
Within the cavalry formation, Wei Yuan sat upright upon his Azure Steed, riding steadily forward without feeling the slightest jolt. Bound together by military qi, the army moved as a single entity. Their pace seemed leisurely but was astonishingly swift; as cavalry, they could cover hundreds of li in a single shichen.
Wei Yuan could feel that as the distance from the Qingming boundary stone widened, the Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains gradually fell dormant. His Dao power steadily ebbed, leaving his body progressively weaker.
Beside him, Cui Yu sensed the change and asked, "Are you all right?"
"It doesn't matter. Just a slight touch of weakness, that's all."
Cui Yu sighed. "If you ask me, you should have mobilized your entire army. Why keep such a low profile? Many people in the Jin capital are just waiting to stir up trouble for you."
Wei Yuan said, "This number of troops is just right. Any more, and the King of Jin might regret his decision. As for looking for trouble with me—heh, I'm afraid it won't be that easy."
Cui Yu said, "There are traitors in our territory. Word that you grow weak upon leaving Qingming has already spread to the Jin capital. Many youngsters there are itching to fight you, hoping to make a name for themselves and suppress the momentum of our Palace of Grand Beginning. I think once we return, we must thoroughly purge our ranks."
Wei Yuan shook his head. "No need. With so many people now, and even more in the future, some will inevitably sneak in, and some will eventually leave us. Let them be."
Cui Yu turned his head and added, "There is one more thing. When you distributed official appointments this time, you didn't reserve any posts for your fellow disciples from Sky Azure Hall. They're somewhat disgruntled in private."
Wei Yuan said, "They arrived late and were left idle by me for a time, contributing next to nothing. How could I grant them posts? Pay them no mind. There will be plenty of battles ahead; once they earn merit, there will naturally be enough positions for them. How is the situation in the north?"
Cui Yu replied, "The Liao Clan launched a massive southward offensive, and Western Jin's front lines collapsed. They only stabilized their footing after reinstating Prince Ying. But they retreated several thousand li in one go, freeing up the main force of the Liao Clan to focus entirely on attacking the northern mountain gate. Most of the palace's combat strength has been deployed to the north, and by all accounts, the situation is grim. The King of Jin's decision to hold the Autumn Hunt right now is also an effort to boost morale."
"The Autumn Hunt..." Wei Yuan knew that this was the true centerpiece of the journey.
Traveling day and night, the several thousand iron cavalry covered over a hundred thousand li in roughly a month. Along the way, the weather shifted from hot and humid to crisp and dry, until finally, an enormous dark gray metropolis rose before Wei Yuan: Yingdu.
Ying, the capital of Western Jin, had originally been nothing more than a small frontier town. A thousand years ago, after the Lu clan established their dynasty, they surprised everyone by choosing this modest settlement of only ten thousand residents as their capital.
Ying lay on the edge of the northern steppe. In those days, the nearest Liao pastures were merely a few hundred li away, close enough that Northern Liao cavalry could charge to its walls in a single sprint.
Over the following century, successive Kings of Jin had slept with spears for pillows, pushing Northern Liao back ten thousand li and laying the foundation for Western Jin's present territory. In the generations that followed, some kings were muddle-headed while others ruled with vigor and diligence. At its greatest extent, Yingdu lay thirty thousand li from the border; at its closest, merely two thousand.
The Palace of Grand Beginning's northern mountain gate also stood upon the northern grasslands. Relations between Western Jin and the Palace of Grand Beginning waxed and waned, but overall, they remained mutually supportive allies guarding each other's flanks.
After several centuries of such growth, Ying had transformed from a humble town of ten thousand into a sprawling metropolis of two million, celebrated as one of the great cities of Great Tang.
At the west gate of Yingdu, the afternoon sun filtered through the gatehouse windows, bathing the room in warmth. The Imperial Guard general on duty leaned against the back of his chair, his eyelids growing heavy.
Suddenly, a horn blared! The general jolted awake, leaping to his feet by sheer instinct. An enemy attack?
A soldier burst into the gatehouse, shouting, "General Lin, there's military qi! It's moving extremely fast!"
General Lin grabbed his saber, rushed out of the gatehouse, and peered into the distance. Sure enough, an aura of military qi rose on the horizon, soaring straight toward the clouds with murderous ferocity.
General Lin was a veteran of many battles who had only retired from the northern border this year due to injury, transferring into the capital's Imperial Guard. With his seasoned eye, he judged at a glance that it would take at least twenty thousand Liao barbarian skirmishers to generate such military qi.
Yet even though they had just suffered a catastrophic rout and retreated thousands of li, the front lines were still ten thousand li from the royal capital. How could Liao cavalry suddenly appear near Yingdu?
The military qi advanced with incredible speed, and the troops beneath it finally entered his field of view. Straining his eyesight, General Lin at last made out the dark green armor trimmed in red, along with the character "Wei" emblazoned upon the battle banners.
A sudden realization struck him. He pulled out the military roster, flipped through it hurriedly, and his tense face finally relaxed. Turning to the soldier beside him, he cursed, "Making a fuss over nothing! That's Commissioner Wei's banner! Sounding the alarm before you even looked properly—you scared the living daylights out of me!"
A commanding voice sounded behind him: "Why was the alarm sounded?"
Turning around, he saw a square-faced general with dark skin standing behind him, exuding an imposing authority without showing anger. Straightening his posture instantly, Lin said, "Greetings, Right Defender General! In reply to the general, it appears to be Commissioner Wei's cavalry. The men below sounded the alarm by mistake before identifying them."
The square-faced general stepped to the edge of the wall and watched the thundering iron cavalry roll toward them. His pupils shrank, and he said slowly, "Worthy of border troops. Truly an army of wolves and tigers!"
General Lin blinked in surprise. "Border troops? They aren't on our official frontier roster, are they?"
The square-faced general said, "Consider where they are stationed. If not border troops, what else could they be? This Wei Yuan..."
He left his sentence unfinished.
A moment later, the gates of the Jin capital swung wide, and thousands of iron cavalry rolled into the city. Standing by the gate, General Lin watched the riders gallop past, feeling a murderous intent so dense it was almost palpable, suffocating those in its path.
A minor officer beside him poked out his tongue in dismay. "Good heavens! How many people must they have killed to possess such heavy murderous intent?!"
General Lin said, "How else could they have wiped out Commander Yue's ten thousand iron cavalry to the last man?"
"Ah?! That was them?!" The officer's jaw dropped in disbelief.
General Lin nodded. "They've only recently submitted. Whatever you do, never provoke them."
The officer smiled bitterly. "How many lives does this lowly one have to dare provoke those gods of slaughter?"
Only then did General Lin feel somewhat relieved. Yet he knew full well that there were plenty of reckless individuals in the royal capital.
Wei Yuan handed over his entry documents, and the main body of cavalry was escorted to the military barracks. Outside its main walls, Yingdu had constructed an outer perimeter that formed several satellite cities. These satellite cities functioned like oversized barbicans, housing military encampments within. The large force Wei Yuan brought was quartered in these barracks, while he was permitted to enter the capital proper with a personal retinue of one hundred guards, taking up lodging at an official posthouse to await an imperial audience with the King of Jin.
Nurtured over a thousand years, the royal capital was extraordinarily prosperous. Even with repeated defeats at the front, banquets were being hosted everywhere throughout the city.
Inside one brightly lit manor, a lively feast was underway in a painted pavilion suspended half over a small lake. Most of the guests were young men and women, dressed in opulent finery that marked their extraordinary pedigree.
At the head of the hall stood three banquet seats. In the middle sat a young lady; while one could hardly pinpoint what made her so beautiful, the more one looked at her, the harder it became to tear one's eyes away. She was none other than Zhao's Princess Ningguo.
The young man on her left wore robes embroidered with a green horned dragon, marking him as the current King of Jin's fifteenth son. On her right sat a young lord with a profound demeanor, his skin faintly glistening with a treasured glow that spoke of impressive cultivation. To sit beside the princess of Zhao, his lineage was naturally illustrious—he was the Heir of Prince Cheng.
Aside from these two, anyone permitted to drink alongside Princess Ningguo was naturally of exalted birth.
Several seats remained empty. At that moment, an attendant called out loudly, "General Wang, Right Defender General of the Imperial Guard, has arrived!"
A burly, square-faced man strode into the pavilion. Though unarmored, his military bearing was unmistakable. He first saluted the Fifteenth Prince, then took his seat.
The guests were all well acquainted with one another, and one young lord spoke up: "General Wang, I heard that barbarian Wei from the Western Regions entered the city today, frightening the gate guards into blowing the alarm. Is this barbarian Wei truly so formidable?"
The square-faced general replied, "They are indeed an army of wolves and tigers."
Another young noble snorted with a cold laugh. "No matter how capable the fellow is, since he dared offend Princess Ningguo, this young master will certainly give him a taste of our might and test the supreme arts of the Palace of Grand Beginning!"
With that noble speaking so recklessly, the expressions of the other guests turned somewhat subtle.
The customs among the aristocrats of the various states were quite loose, and the royal houses were even more so; many lived lives of unrestrained indulgence, and it was hardly unusual for a princess under twenty to have known countless men.
Back then, when the Zhao diplomatic mission was ambushed by the Heaven-Battling Gang and Princess Ningguo suffered disgrace, the news had traveled faster than a flying sword message. The nobles cared little about the princess being disgraced; they treated it as nothing more than being bitten by a dog, or having one drink too many and mistakenly entertaining an unsavory bedmate behind her bed curtains.
What everyone relished discussing was how the horse bandit had finished his business in the span of a few breaths, from entering the carriage to stepping out. The royal capital was full of people with formidable connections; everyone knew the true roots of the Heaven-Battling Gang, and naturally knew who had dared slip into the princess's carriage.
Furthermore, Feng Lin, who had been stripped of his post and imprisoned for failing in his duties as an escort, stubbornly maintained in prison that the bandit had indeed done the deed, insisting he had heard sounds from outside the carriage. Consequently, the incident became a piece of mocking gossip, spreading throughout the Western Jin bureaucracy in tandem with Wei Yuan's appointment as military commissioner.
Before Wei Yuan's iron cavalry had even entered the capital, his moniker of "Three Thrusts" had already swept across the entire royal city.
Chapter 310