Sun Mingke shouted, "I'm the one who did it, and I'll answer for it myself. Sister Lu, don't blame Brother Wang Chong—I was the one who asked to go scout for news in Bazhou."
Lu Yaoniang came from a distinguished family and was gentle by nature, but at this moment she couldn't hold back either. She gave her little junior brother a knuckle rap to the head—one "jujube" on the left side of his forehead, one "chestnut" on the right.
Clutching his head, Sun Mingke said aggrievedly, "I just killed something—the leader of this cavalry, even! Doesn't that count for something? Why are you hitting me, Senior Sister?"
If Lichiluo had known that he, who had endured his whole life and thought himself a hero, was killed by a man who didn't even remember his name—how aggrieved he would have been down in the underworld.
Wang Chong didn't dare interfere with Lu Yaoniang disciplining her junior brother. He turned to these surrendered Yaglakar clan soldiers and said, "Since you are willing to surrender, you must keep my rules: take Han surnames, speak the Chinese language, and wear Han-style clothing."
On the great steppe of this era, there was only the concept of tribes. Losing a war and joining another tribe was a common thing. Far from resenting it, these surrendered soldiers were even a little excited, because it meant Wang Chong was willing to accept them with sincerity. Someone asked at once, "What Han surnames must we take?"
Wang Chong answered, "Since you are of the Yaglakar clan, you may take the three surnames Yao, Ge, and Luo."
Lu Yaoniang brought Sun Mingke over and said, "Regarding the White Chrysanthemum case, thank you, Sister Li, and Brother Wang Chong, for all your hard work—it's thanks to you that the villains were all caught and brought to justice."
Wang Chong quickly said, "There are still some who fled—Wen Zhengxi hasn't been caught yet!"
Su Luo Yan and Li Qingge couldn't help laughing, and Lu Yaoniang was a little helpless as well. She said, "I brought my junior brother down the mountain hoping he could gain some experience. Now I must take him back before our master. I'll take my leave."
Wang Chong sighed. He actually wanted very much to draw both Sun Mingke and Lu Yaoniang into his affairs—after all, he urgently needed help—but since Lu Yaoniang was taking Sun Mingke away, he wouldn't stop her. He said, "Then I'll respectfully see the two of you off. If you have the time, let's meet in Chang'an."
Lu Yaoniang left with Sun Mingke. Sun Mingke was very reluctant to go and kept waving to Wang Chong.
Li Qingge sighed and said as well, "I need to return to Chang'an too. We'll meet again before long."
Wang Chong also cupped his hands in farewell. After Li Qingge had gone far off, he waited for quite a while, then heard Su Luo Yan let out a laugh and say, "Are you hoping Sister Su will leave too?"
Wang Chong gave a sheepish laugh and said, "Since young brother Sun is returning to the mountain, I'll just have to go to Bazhou myself."
Su Luo Yan bit her lip lightly and said in a low voice, "I know a little about the steppe as well. I'll go with you."
Wang Chong quickly turned his head aside, afraid he couldn't control his expression. Circulating his energy through nine revolutions, he calmed his emotions a little, then turned back and said with a smile, "That would be wonderful." He immediately called two men over and had them send word back to Tongzhou Prefecture, saying that he would be away for a while and that there was no need to worry about anything.
Wang Chong ordered everyone to rest and reorganize on the spot. In a seven-to-three ratio, he selected twenty troop leaders from among the two or three hundred men of good family and the Yaglakar tribesmen. Each troop leader had fifty or seventy men under him, and the men of both sides were mixed and distributed evenly. He also picked several Yaglakar clansmen fluent in the Chinese language to serve as guides, and the whole force headed straight for Bazhou.
Su Luo Yan watched Wang Chong the whole way. Seeing how capable and efficient he was, how every word and action carried a natural air of command, and how his thousand-odd subordinates obeyed every order and followed him like shadows, she felt her cheeks flush crimson without realizing it, and thought inwardly: "Chu Qiuzi, it's your own fault you didn't make more of yourself—you can't blame me."
On the road, Su Luo Yan moved close to Wang Chong and said in a low voice, "Has the Prince of Yan thought about what he'll do from here on?"
Wang Chong answered with a half-smile, "Does Sister Su have a clever plan to teach me?"
Seeing how close he was leaning, Su Luo Yan dodged slightly, but she didn't put any distance between them. She said, "This matter is quite complicated when you get right down to it. The Jiang family, the Wen family, the court officials, the great clans and great houses—even the Heavenly Empress herself—surely each have their own stance."
"It's just that..."
"In my humble opinion, Your Highness, no matter what you do, you will surely die. No great clan can tolerate letting you live."
Wang Chong hadn't expected that Su Luo Yan would cut straight to the heart of the matter with a single sentence.
A modern person—especially a modern person from a safe country—always has a mysterious sense of security. They even think they wouldn't die if they went to Thailand or Myanmar. They'd believe that simply by changing one's surname, or by marrying a Jiang-surnamed woman, they could make the Jiang family—make the great clans and great houses—believe that a man surnamed Wen could live in peace with them.
Although this world had no Guo Wei or Chai Rong, no Liu Bei or Kou Feng, the great men who have risen to high positions really aren't so naive as to stake their lives on a hollow, empty promise. This would be as foolish as Kou Zhong giving the realm away to Li Er.
No one can guarantee that an emperor won't kill his ministers!
No one can guarantee that an emperor, after ascending the throne, won't change his surname back!
No one can guarantee that a man surnamed Wen, upon taking the throne, won't slaughter the Jiang line wholesale...
Wang Chong said with a smile, "If that's the case, Sister Su, why did you still choose to come with me?"
Su Luo Yan rolled her eyes at him in annoyance and thought, "This man really—give him an inch and he'll take a mile." But she said, "Because I can show you a bright path, little brother Wang Chong. Why not withdraw into the mountains and forests and live under a hidden name? With your martial arts, so long as you leave the court behind, no one will be able to do anything to you. Free and unfettered, wouldn't you be happy anywhere you went?"
Wang Chong pondered for a long while, then said in a low voice, "That way out seems rather cowardly."
Su Luo Yan stared at him without blinking, her beautiful eyes fixed on him, and said, "So you want to rebel!?"
Wang Chong was greatly startled. Only that Tongzhou Prefect knew he had the idea of rebelling. Such a big matter—he had never once mentioned it to anyone. How had Su Luo Yan figured it out?
Su Luo Yan smiled brightly and said, "The Ten-Thousand-Year Fox House also teaches some of the arts of rulership, along with military texts and strategy."
"His Highness the Prince of Yan is planning to use the pretext of taking up his fief in Yanzhou to raise troops, isn't he?"
Wang Chong was truly astonished this time. Su Luo Yan had guessed it exactly. Although he had sent Sun Mingke to Bazhou and thereby revealed some of his intentions, to be able to guess this much—this Chess-Sword Linglong was truly no ordinary person. Not only was she beautiful and formidable in martial arts, but her wisdom was extraordinary as well.
Wang Chong let out a long sigh, showing his true Xuan De colors, and said with a compassionate air, "It's not that I want to stir up war. I only want to prove that so long as I don't wish it, no one can kill me."
Su Luo Yan laughed softly, and after a long moment said, "These lines were taught to you by the Heavenly Empress, weren't they?"
"I've always wondered—His Highness the Prince of Yan clearly has no hope of contending for the throne, so why does the Heavenly Empress keep refusing to name a crown prince?"
"So it turns out the Heavenly Empress is betting her hopes on her son being a born ruler."
Wang Chong coughed once, an embarrassed look on his face. He didn't know whether the real Prince of Yan had been a born ruler, but that Prince of Yan was most likely already dead.
Su Luo Yan smiled sweetly and said, "Little brother Wang Chong, do you dislike how bluntly I speak?"
Wang Chong shook his head and said, "They're all golden words of good counsel—how is that speaking too bluntly? It's because you truly regard me as your closest person that you'd speak these few honest words. Words like these can't be bought for a thousand pieces of gold, nor exchanged for ten thousand."
Chapter 85