Prologue

At first, everyone assumed it was merely a rumor. As the heart of the world, Hongnong held irreplaceable strategic importance for both the Imperial Court and the Sect Alliance. For such a vital stronghold to fall without warning? It seemed like an absurd joke. Yet when the Sect Alliance's army stood across the river from the Imperial Guard stationed on the northern bank of the Tianhe River, the rumor solidified into reality. Shock, fury, and fear steadily spread through Di'an City. Many had never imagined the imperial court could lose. Compared to the Sect Alliance, the Great Yan imperial court possessed an absolute systemic advantage in the war's opening stages. For that reason, ever since the civil war erupted, talk of a swift victory had dominated the court. The imperial court had no need to unify disparate cultivation methods, no need to adjust its production lines, and suffered none of the internal squabbling and obstruction plaguing the Sect Alliance. Thus, many believed the court could quell the rebellion outright before the Sect Alliance could find its footing. The trajectory of the nationwide fighting had initially validated and fed that sentiment. The iron hooves of the Black Scale Army raged across Jiangnan. The trans-continental eastern expedition mounted jointly by the Zhenxi Army and the Great Yan border army had virtually linked up the court's disconnected enclaves across the southwest. Across the wider expanse of the empire, the court's line of control had advanced steadily southward. Yet it was precisely then that Hongnong fell. The vast waters known as the Tianhe River ran east to west across Great Yan, dividing the realm into north and south. Bordering the river to its north, northern Hongnong had served as the court's bridgehead to drive south and connect its southwestern enclaves. With its fall, any future southern advance would require crossing the natural moat of the Tianhe River anew. For the Sect Alliance, securing full control over Hongnong granted ample room to maneuver. Advancing, they could march north to strike Nanhuaili on the southern flank of the Capital Region; retreating, they could hold the natural barrier of the Tianhe River to steadily whittle away the footholds the court had driven into their heartland. In that single moment, the tides of the civil war shifted. Within days of Hongnong's fall, the Sect Alliance brought its ten-thousand-year heritage to bear, and the sects' counteroffensive began in earnest. The Black Scale Army, having driven deep into the Jiangnan heartland as an isolated force, began to show signs of exhaustion. Their spearhead was no longer invincible, as prepared Jiangnan elites met them in bloody meat-grinders throughout the southern mountains. Misfortunes never came singly. The court's broader southern offensive suffered local defeats, and the front that had once pushed smoothly southward ground to a bitter stalemate. Under these circumstances, something curious occurred. As military dispatches fluttered into Di'an like snowflakes, the courtiers who had loudly clamored for a swift victory over the Sect Alliance plummeted into pessimism. Quite a few even began whispering calls for peace, both in court and behind closed doors. A swift victory and a swift defeat differed by only a single word and a single thought. They could not stomach defeat—nor could they endure a stalemate. Fortunately, most of these individuals held low rank and little sway; in the past, neither emperor nor chancellor would have permitted such clownish figures to wield real power. Before their voices could sway others, the new emperor, Li Zhaoyuan, casually swept them aside. Yet the loss of Hongnong remained a grave matter, and someone had to be held accountable for surrendering such a strategic bastion. It was then that a second curious thing occurred. No one mentioned holding the defending commander accountable. Instead, the officials tacitly shifted the debate to the defenses along the Great River. Everyone knew that across northern Hongnong, from the theater commander down to the officers holding each individual fortress, every man belonged to an army that officially did not exist. The Black Scale Army. From the moment this colossus was formed, no one had ever officially acknowledged it. If one had to classify it, it could at most be called the personal retainers of the Chancellor's Manor. Merely personal retainers; as such, they owed no garrison duties, and there was no legal ground to hold them to account. *** Another morning court session drew to a close. As the exhausted officials filed out of the Golden Chime Hall, a few elderly figures quietly followed the Grand Eunuch of the Imperial Presence toward the Eastern Palace. There were only three of them: the Vice Chancellor of Great Yan, the Commander of the Imperial Guard, and the Marquis of Wucheng, newly summoned back to the capital. While the upper ranks of the imperial faction comprised far more than just them, at this delicate juncture, Li Zhaoyuan could place complete trust only in these three. The Vice Chancellor walked at the rear, his eyes downcast with exhaustion. With Xu Yinhe missing, the state affairs that would normally fall under the Chancellor's remit had naturally been shifted onto him. His power had swelled to unprecedented heights, but it had brought an equally unprecedented exhaustion. He lacked the deep foundation that Xu Yinhe possessed. This sudden surge of authority only made him feel as though he were treading on thin ice—especially when dealing with matters involving the Xu family. As he pondered a summary of the day's court proceedings, the conversation of the two military officers ahead reached his ears. The Commander of the Imperial Guard walked side by side with the Marquis of Wucheng. "Lord Marquis, I never imagined that when we met again after parting the year before last, His Majesty would have already passed." The Marquis of Wucheng fell silent for a moment before replying, "You knew His Majesty's physical condition well. This day was in fact long overdue. As ministers, our eyes must look forward and assist Great Yan's new sovereign." The Commander of the Imperial Guard gave a slight nod and glanced sideways, murmuring, "It has been hard on you these days since entering the capital. Without your voice speaking up, many of the crown prince's decrees would have been shouted down by those traitors." The Marquis of Wucheng had been summoned back to the capital partly due to Li Yaoxuan's passing, but far more because the imperial faction needed a heavyweight minister to suppress the doubts directed at the new sovereign. Shaking his head, the Marquis said, "It is merely my duty as a subject. His Majesty has only just departed, yet those scoundrels could hardly wait to leap forward. Utterly absurd." "Gentlemen, rather than dwelling on that, what do you think His Highness's purpose is in summoning us into the palace?" Suppressing his tangled thoughts of state affairs, the Vice Chancellor spoke from behind them. "Xu Yinhe likely departed alongside the late emperor, and that Xu Changtian appears even more hawkish than his father." At these words, the Marquis of Wucheng did not hesitate. Straightforward as always, he answered at once, "What else could it be? The only matter capable of troubling His Highness to this degree is the Black Scale Army." Seeing him answer so bluntly, the Vice Chancellor's face filled with worry. "The Black Scale Army was an unspoken understanding between the late emperor and the Chancellor—a product of strongman politics. But now, with His Majesty departed and the Chancellor missing, the order that allowed the Black Scale Army to quietly exist has naturally unraveled." Though no one dared mention it openly in court, northern Hongnong's fall had turned the Black Scale Army into the root of everyone's unease. In the past, if the Black Scale Army stepped out of line, Li Yaoxuan could dispatch someone to demand accountability directly from Xu Yinhe. But who would dare hold them accountable now? When the tide of strongmen receded, the issues once suppressed by their sheer personal authority were laid bare to the world. The Marquis of Wucheng raised a brow, letting out a cold scoff. "Could it be the Chancellor's Manor dares to rebel? The Sect Alliance is currently marching under the banner of purging the Chancellor's Manor to clear evil from the sovereign's side." The Vice Chancellor cursed him as a crude brute in his heart, but kept his voice low: "There is no need for angry bluster, Lord Marquis. What matters is how we resolve this, and how the new order in court should be framed." The Commander of the Imperial Guard pondered for a brief moment before speaking in a measured tone: "The Chancellor has not shown his face in over a month. Given the circumstances, we can virtually confirm he departed alongside His Majesty." "..." Both the Vice Chancellor and the Marquis looked toward him simultaneously. The upheaval at the imperial mausoleum had been sealed off by the Imperial Guard. As the foremost figure of the guards, he was bound to know inside details. Bringing it up now was practically an outright confirmation. A heavy silence descended as they walked a long way beside the vermilion palace walls. The Vice Chancellor finally let out a slow sigh. "Speculating further among ourselves is pointless. Let us judge after we see His Highness." *** "Gentlemen, these are the findings from the Imperial Shadow Guard's investigation in Hongnong." Bright firelight flickered within the hall of the Eastern Palace. Behind the desk, Li Zhaoyuan leaned back in his chair, speaking calmly as he waited for the three senior ministers to finish reading the memorials. Just as they had anticipated, Li Zhaoyuan had gathered them today because of the Black Scale Army. Yet as they read the intelligence report, their faces darkened in unison. Every piece of evidence confirmed that the fall of northern Hongnong was no military defeat; the Black Scale Army had chosen to abandon the strategic region of its own accord. After a brief silence, Li Zhaoyuan laced his fingers over the desk and spoke in an even, measured tone: "Gentlemen, what are your thoughts on this?" With a grim expression, the Marquis of Wucheng said, "In response to Your Highness: ordinary warfare could never destroy northern Hongnong's defenses so thoroughly. If the Imperial Shadow Guard's intelligence is accurate, the Black Scale Army stationed in northern Hongnong was by no means routed." Li Zhaoyuan looked at the elderly general hailed as the Great Yan God of War. "Minister Mu, are you saying the Black Scale Army took the initiative to dismantle all the defensive fortifications in northern Hongnong and withdrew voluntarily?" The Marquis nodded. "Yes." Li Zhaoyuan fell silent for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the three pillars of the imperial faction. "Then what do you believe the Chancellor's Manor intends by this?" The Marquis thought carefully and offered an objective assessment: "Xu Yinhe redeployed the majority of the Black Scale Army's elites from Hongnong to raid Jiangnan. Regardless of whether that move was right or wrong, it tipped the military balance in Hongnong entirely toward the Sect Alliance. For the Chancellor's Manor, abandoning the territory and withdrawing was their best option." Li Zhaoyuan did not answer immediately, instead glancing toward the others in the room. Soon, the Vice Chancellor sighed, hitting the nail on the head: "While Lord Mu's words are sound, they are confined strictly to military logic. The deeper reason, in all likelihood, is that the sky has already shifted within the Chancellor's Manor." The Marquis frowned, turning to look back at the old civilian official. "Meaning Xu Yinhe is truly dead?" Thoughtfulness flashed in the Vice Chancellor's eyes as he murmured, "From my decades of working alongside Chancellor Xu, if he were still alive, he would never have abandoned northern Hongnong after spending over ten years building it up—nor would there have been any need to. It was the bridgehead he and the late emperor prepared for marching south to quell the rebels." As he spoke, the Vice Chancellor cast a tentative glance toward the new sovereign behind the desk. From the information he had gathered, the late emperor had likely passed away on the day of the upheaval at the imperial mausoleum. Yet after that day, Xu Yinhe had still shown his face in court. In other words, if Xu Yinhe was truly dead now, only the new sovereign could have been responsible. Li Zhaoyuan offered no clear answer to this probing look. For a late emperor to leave behind a powerful minister as a whetstone to establish the new sovereign's authority was a time-tested stratagem in ten-thousand-year dynasties. Yet Xu Yinhe had long since surpassed the definition of a mere powerful minister. Were Li Zhaoyuan to claim credit, it would indeed establish immense prestige within the imperial faction in the short term, but the consequence would be an outright rupture between the imperial house and the Chancellor's Manor. That was a consequence he could not afford. Thus, Xu Yinhe's death could only be implied, never stated outright. Li Zhaoyuan shifted his gaze to the other military officer present. Taking the cue, the Commander of the Imperial Guard spoke in a calm voice: "In my view, the Xu family is applying pressure to Your Highness." By replacing the term "Chancellor's Manor" with "the Xu family," the commander had effectively answered on Li Zhaoyuan's behalf. Thus, Li Zhaoyuan affirmed his deduction: "We believe the same." With that, the reality was laid bare within this small circle: Xu Yinhe had almost certainly departed alongside the late emperor. For the veteran ministers present, this revelation brought neither joy nor sorrow. An era they had lived through had finally come to an end; what remained was only a quiet sigh of regret. Still, their eyes had to look ahead. As a general, the Marquis of Wucheng, seeing the matter laid bare, cut straight to the point: "In that case, this Xu Changtian must be truly desperate. How does Your Highness plan to respond?" The Vice Chancellor spoke before Li Zhaoyuan, leaving more room for maneuver: "Your Highness, the administrative system of the Chancellor's Manor has possessed a fatal flaw since its inception. To summarize it in two words: fracture. It split a unified whole into two camps—on one side were the Chancellor's faction officials within the imperial court, and on the other were the internal retainers of the Xu family. Two parallel apparatuses standing side by side, with Xu Yinhe as their supreme leader serving as the intersection where they complemented each other. "While Xu Yinhe was alive, everything functioned smoothly. But with his passing, the intersection between the two systems vanished. "From the state affairs I have handled recently, many matters among the Xu family's grassroots retainers require the cooperation of the Chancellor's faction in court. Whether levying manpower, allocating land, or even requisitioning supplies, they all require the assistance of our Great Yan local officials. "In the short term, owing to Xu Yinhe's personal prestige, the cohesive pull of the Chancellor's Manor's system will not crumble. But as time drags on, without that strongman standing in court, and with you commanding the realm's righteousness and holding the court's absolute legitimacy, the Chancellor's faction will steadily lose its voice in court and ultimately pledge their loyalty to you." Li Zhaoyuan listened closely, his dark eyes betraying neither anger nor pleasure. "So in Chancellor Gong's view, We should continue stalling?" "..." The corner of the Vice Chancellor's eye twitched. Of course they could stall. They had stalled for a month, and Xu Changtian had responded by having the Black Scale Army abandon Hongnong. If they kept stalling, heaven only knew what rash measures that young head might take. Yet Li Zhaoyuan's next words set the Vice Chancellor's heart back at ease. "However, now is not the time. The Xu family remains an ally of the imperial house, while the Sect Alliance is the true peril threatening our court. We cannot ignore Xu Changtian's demands." The Commander of the Imperial Guard asked softly, "Your Highness means..." "The old order established by Imperial Father and Chancellor Xu will inevitably collapse, and the new order belonging to Us must be built." Li Zhaoyuan rose slowly from his seat, his fingers brushing along the wood grain of the desk. "Since Xu Changtian wishes to maintain the same influence in court that Chancellor Xu once wielded, We might as well grant it to him. Yet the incident in Hongnong has indeed thrown the entire court into panic. The Black Scale Army can no longer remain an army that does not exist—at the very least, the court cannot remain completely blind to its movements." "..." Silence fell over the hall. Every man present was a pillar of state who had spent decades navigating officialdom. Even the Marquis of Wucheng, who spent years commanding troops far afield, understood the new sovereign's meaning perfectly. Li Zhaoyuan intended to formally acknowledge the existence of the Black Scale Army. Xu Changtian could inherit Chancellor Xu's influence over the court, but in exchange, he had to grant the imperial court a path to intervene in the Black Scale Army. At the very least, they would have to report the army's whereabouts. From a macroscopic perspective, this was a decision that benefited the entire court. Since the outbreak of the civil war, the imperial house and the Chancellor's Manor had fought separate campaigns. But against a colossus like the Sect Alliance, the forces of the imperial faction and the Chancellor's faction would inevitably need to coordinate their operations as the war intensified. Under the current structure, achieving such joint operations was virtually impossible. The problem, however, was that while this benefited the imperial court as a whole, it did not necessarily benefit the Xu family. Given Xu Changtian's hawkish nature, would he truly allow outsiders to meddle with his army? Yet the three men's apprehensions soon dissolved into bewilderment upon receiving news from the Chancellor's Manor. The following day, the late emperor's testamentary edict was delivered to the Chancellor's Manor. It enfeoffed the third son of Chancellor Xu as the Prince of Han, bestowing the Nine Bestowments, investing him with the imperial golden battle-axe, granting him exemption from declaring his name during audiences, authorizing him to establish his own administrative offices with the privileges of the Three Excellencies, and appointing him to command the Black Scale Army. Xu Yuan, the third son of the Chancellor, calmly accepted the decree and the honors.